The FAA lifted its nationwide ground stop on Friday evening. The five-hour halt delayed flights across the country. Normal operations resumed shortly after the order was cleared.
Flights can now take off and land again. Airlines are working to clear the backlog of delayed departures. Crews and aircraft remain out of position after the stoppage.
The disruption will linger through the weekend. Travelers should expect residual delays and crowded airports. Schedules may take days to fully recover.
The ground stop followed an earlier system outage that affected flight planning. The FAA issued the order to manage air traffic safely. It marked one of the largest nationwide stoppages in recent years.
Airlines advised passengers to check flight status before heading to airports. Many carriers offered waivers for rebooking. Some travelers faced long lines and missed connections.
The agency has not detailed the full cause of the outage. Officials said they are reviewing what triggered the failure. Further updates are expected in the coming days.
Passengers should arrive early and monitor airline apps for changes. Delays may cascade as airlines reposition planes and crews. The effects should ease as the weekend progresses.
