South Florida airports feeling aftermath of ground stop due to "telecommunication outage" lifted by FAA

South Florida airports continued to feel the effects through the night after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a rare nationwide ground stop that lasted hours on Friday. The FAA and White House said the issue appeared to be caused by a "telecommunications outage." 

"At 8:15 tonight, Eastern time, we've opened up the airspace," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a news briefing Friday night. "Now does that mean every flight is going to fly right now? It's going to be slow. So if you're watching, you're at an airport, check with your airline." 

The FAA issued a ground stop for all departing flights due to "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety."  

According to Duffy's post on X at 4:16 p.m., the ground stop was issued to all U.S. airports, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Miami International Airport (MIA), due to a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. This is the second nationwide groundstop since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

The MIA posted on X warning travelers about the ground stop, saying: "Due to the nationwide FAA system outage, travelers are strongly urged NOT to come to MIA until they have confirmed directly with their airline that their flight is operating and have received updated travel instructions. Passengers should continue monitoring their airline's website or mobile app for the latest flight status and rebooking information."

According to FlightRadar, a site that tracks when flights depart and land, the last recorded flight departed at 3:36 p.m. 

FlightAware reported that as of Friday evening, nearly 400 flights departing from MIA were delayed, and 17 had been canceled. 

The FLL also posted on X about the ground stop, saying, "Flights inbound to FLL are expected to land; however, departures have been temporarily halted. Passengers scheduled to depart later today from our airport should contact their airline for the latest flight status before coming to FLL, as delays and cancellations are possible depending on the duration of the ground stop." 

FlightAware reported that the last flight that departed from FLL was at 3:37 p.m. As of Friday evening, 335 flights were delayed, and 43 were canceled at the Broward airport. 

What does the ground stop look like for planes in the air trying to land? 

Pilot Adam Clampet was on the runway at FLL and said he received the ground stop message as he was landing. He noted that planes already in the sky were allowed to land, but no planes were allowed to ascend. 

"I did hear from another pilot who flies for an airline that is stranded here now that they got a message that it was going to be until 11:00 p.m. tonight," Clampet said.  

Aviation attorney and expert Willard Sheppard says this kind of ground stop primarily affects air traffic control centers, including those in Miami and Jacksonville, but for people already on planes, communication between the towers and pilots will have to rely on older technologies. 

"What'll take place is they're basically reverting back to the systems that they have used for years, like grease pencils and other placards and types of things to be able to continue to communicate, and the weather here, fortunately, is great during this type of situation," Shepard said.

Historically, grease pencils were used by air traffic controllers to record data on glass or plastic boards before more modern technology was introduced. 

Passengers at both airports react to the ground stop

Passengers at both airports say they were unaware of the nationwide ground stop when speaking to CBS News Miami. 

A group of passengers at MIA said they were on the plane home when the ground stop was announced, and they were ordered to deboard after an hour of waiting. 

"We're all trying to get home from being here for work, and we were already on our plane, so we're just trying to figure out what our next step is," said one of the passengers. 

"There's no way to get through to anybody, and our flight actually says it's still going to take off in 15 minutes," another passenger said. 

"I'm concerned; I want to fly home safe," a third passenger told CBS News Miami. 

A couple who spoke to CBS News Miami said that their honeymoon flight from Orlando to Milan was delayed yesterday, so they went to the Miami airport, only to be delayed again. 

"It was such a crazy travel day. We were like, we're just going to lose one day of our honeymoon; it's fine. We drove four hours from Orlando to Miami, got here, and were like, 'Oh no, of course, for sure, it's Friday the 13th,' Ashley Marello said. 

They said that they are currently in limbo, with airport officials providing them very little information. 

"The most difficult part is trying to ask people who work here and not getting a ton of responses, so we're just refreshing the news, poking around, trying to get a feel for whether we should bail or not," said John Marello. 

As for FLL, passengers are telling CBS News Miami that they were also unaware of the ground stop and are being told to still go through security and wait for their flights to be called. 

One passenger, Jonathan Hale, said he was on his way to the airport when he found out about the ground stop. 

"My flight was delayed for a couple of hours, and then when I actually got to the airport itself, that's when it was canceled. The front desk was able to reschedule me for tomorrow morning," Hale said. 

Duffy noted that FAA technicians are investigating the issue and they will provide updates as soon as more information is available.