A ground stop is an

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

procedure that requires all aircraft that fit certain criteria to remain on the ground. This could be airport-specific or perhaps equipment- or airspace-specific, depending on the exact event that caused the ground stop to occur. Downstream effects can occur from a ground stop. It causes flights to be delayed or canceled and planes and flight crew to be unable to reach the location of their next scheduled flight.

Description

A ground stop is an

measure that slows or halts the flow of aircraft that meet certain criteria, requiring all aircraft of a certain criteria to remain on the ground. Often, the criteria are aircraft inbound to a given airport, where a ground stop is the halting of departing aircraft destined for one particular airport or for a specific geographic area. The criteria could be airport-specific or perhaps equipment- or airspace-specific, depending on the exact event that caused the ground stop to occur. A ground stop does not affect flights en route.

Use

For example, if a ground stop is called for

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

, aircraft departing for Newark from other airports will not be given departure clearance until such time that the ground stop in Newark is lifted. This allows, in this example, for Newark to deal with the task at hand before preparing for arriving aircraft once the ground stop is lifted. Ground stops may occur during an operational event (e.g., a computer outage), a

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

or other weather concerns (e.g., due to the danger of

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

), or another hazard. A ground stop can have cascading effects on flight schedules. Flights that have yet to depart may be delayed or canceled by the airline. Additionally, pilots and flight crew may be unable to reach their assigned aircraft on time, leading to further disruptions. As a result, subsequent flights may also be delayed or canceled due to crew members being unavailable.

Notable examples

* On

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, the U.S.

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

(FAA) issued a ground stop for the entire United States as a precaution against possible additional terrorist attacks by airplane. In addition to grounding international flights which had not yet departed, flights already in the air were either returned to their origin departure airport, or diverted to Canadian airports in Operation Yellow Ribbon. The ground stop was lifted on September 13, when departures from airports within the US also resumed. This was the first ever closure of this magnitude. * In January 2014,

Nav Canada Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, non-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established by statute in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercializati ...

issued a ground stop for Toronto Pearson due to cold weather. The airport authority said the extreme cold was causing "equipment freezing and safety issues for employees." * On January 25, 2019, the FAA declared a ground stop at New York's

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

over a staffing shortage caused by the

government shutdown A government shutdown occurs when the legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government. Government shutdowns in the U ...

. * On January 10, 2022, the FAA issued a ground stop for the West Coast of the US and Hawaii. It is speculated it was related to a North Korean missile test, but no official reason was given by the FAA. * On July 25, 2022, a ground stop was declared at

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport in the neighborhood of Love Field, Dallas, Love Field, northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 17, 2025. It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas Fort Worth Internation ...

after a woman fired a gun into the air near the ticket counters, prompting an evacuation of the terminal. * On January 11, 2023, a nationwide ground stop was declared across the US following the failure of the FAA's

NOTAM A NOTAM (ICAO & FAA: Notice to Airmen, CAA: Notice to Aviation or, for the FAA from 2021 to 2025, Notice to Air Missions) is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a loca ...

system. * On February 4, 2023, an immediate ground stop was issued by the FAA on the east coast of the

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

, impacting

Myrtle Beach International Airport Myrtle Beach International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport. It is located southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It was formerly known as Myrtle Beach Jetpor ...

, Charleston International Airport and

Wilmington International Airport Wilmington International Airport is a public airport located just north of Wilmington, North Carolina, in unincorporated Wrightsboro, North Carolina, Wrightsboro. ILM covers 1,800 acres (728 ha). During the calendar year of 2024, ILM served ...

, due to the 2023 Chinese balloon incident. * On June 7, 2023, the FAA issued a ground stop at LaGuardia International Airport in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

due to extreme smoke haze in the area from Canadian wildfires. * On July 19, 2024,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

, American and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

issued a "global ground stop" amid global computer systems outages.

References

Air traffic control {{aviation-stub

Description

Use

Notable examples

See also

References