ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Travelers at Asheville Regional Airport spent Friday afternoon and evening waiting for answers after a nationwide order from the Federal Aviation Administration kept every departing flight on the ground.
The FAA issued the ground stop on Nov. 13 after a communications problem hit air traffic control centers across the country. The agency cited safety and extraordinary circumstances, and its first alert told airports that all departures should stay put until further notice. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said FAA technicians were looking into the cause.
In Asheville, no flights were cleared to take off during the stop, but the airport stayed open and arriving planes were still allowed to land. A ground stop works that way by design: it blocks takeoffs without forcing aircraft already in the air to come down early.
Inside the terminal, many passengers spent the wait on their phones trying to rebook, some settled onto the floor, and others turned to a vending machine for snacks. Some had already boarded and were sitting on planes when the stop was announced. Travelers said rebooking was hard because airlines could not say when departures would resume, and one pilot said he had been told things might not return to normal until 11 p.m.
The FAA later lifted the nationwide stop, and the airport remained in operation. Airport officials urged anyone flying to check directly with their airline for the latest on delays and cancellations, since schedules can take time to recover after a nationwide halt.
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