PORTLAND, Maine — Travel plans across Maine were thrown into chaos Friday afternoon after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a rare nationwide ground stop, resulting in more than a dozen cancellations at the Portland International Jetport (PWM).

The FAA halted all flights across the country shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday, citing “extraordinary circumstances” triggered by communications issues at regional air traffic control centers. While the agency officially lifted the ground stop around 8:30 p.m., the ripple effects are expected to linger into the weekend as airlines work to reposition out-of-place aircraft and crews.

By 8:30 p.m. Friday, Portland International Jetport reported 17 flight cancellations and 12 delays, with seven aircraft sitting on the tarmac and no inbound flights en route to the city. Jetport officials noted that no flights were diverted to Portland during the outage, and individual airlines are now determining which routes will resume. Airlines have also issued travel waivers, and officials are urging passengers to check directly with their carriers before heading to the terminal.

Further north, Bangor International Airport (BGR) similarly warned travelers during the outage to prepare for delays and keep a close eye on airline apps for real-time updates.

Local Travelers Stranded

The sudden halt left dozens of local passengers scrambling to salvage weekend plans.

Ivan Belanger, who arrived at the Jetport with his 9-year-old daughter, Ramona, for a trip to New York, saw news of the grounding right as they walked into the terminal and opted not to go through security. “Our weekend trip might be ruined and that’s sad,” Belanger said.

University of Maine student Emily Chiarello had already cleared security and was waiting at her gate after driving down from Orono to catch a flight to Charleston, South Carolina. She planned to meet her best friend before heading to a John Summit concert in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday. “Then shortly after, I heard it on the announcements. They just said, ‘All flights are grounded and nobody’s leaving,'” Chiarello said, adding that she will try again to fly out Saturday.

Scarborough resident Angelica Rego had been scheduled to fly to Miami for a birthday weekend with a friend traveling from Virginia. Initially hoping the delay would mirror the roughly 90-minute nationwide ground stop in January 2023, Rego eventually decided to pivot. “We’ve been basically looking at places that are in between,” she said. “I think I’m just going to go get in my car and go drive somewhere.”

Federal Officials Point to Outdated Infrastructure

Friday’s order marked the first nationwide ground stop since the January 2023 FAA computer malfunction, and only the second since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Unlike after 9/11, however, aircraft already in the air were not ordered to land immediately, though hundreds of flights nationwide were diverted.

Federal officials attributed the breakdown to aging infrastructure. Speaking at the White House, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said introducing new technology into an “overloaded” and “outdated” air traffic control system appears to have overwhelmed it.

While investigators have not completely ruled out a cyberattack or a glitch tied to a newly rolled-out FAA artificial intelligence routing system, Mullin noted there are no “footprints” of an attack and described the failure as “mechanically driven.”

The incident mirrors a similar regional communications outage that snarled Northeast air traffic in September. Former United Airlines pilot and aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo noted that when controllers risk losing communication with aircraft, grounding planes is the only safe option.

Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to replace aging copper wires and radio equipment with modern fiber optic lines, though Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has stated an additional $30 billion is still needed to finish overhauling the system.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.