Around 3,100 aircraft are airborne and heading for US airports, with no further take-offs, as the FAA's nationwide ground stop holds. The figure comes from flight tracking service Flightradar24 and was shared on X by Reuters correspondent David Shepardson.
"There are currently 3,100 airborne aircraft bound for US airports amid nationwide ground stop. No additional aircraft are taking off at this time."
The FAA advisory, numbered 111, is effective through 11pm ET, which is 4am UK time on Saturday. Its text, as reported by Reuters and Axios, still says: "All departing traffic should remain groundstopped until further notice." Inbound international flights are being handled case by case.
Clash Report says that as of 4.20pm ET (9.20pm UK time) the FAA's public status board did not yet list the nationwide halt. It showed only ground stops at O'Hare and Midway linked to an equipment outage.
The advisory gives no reason for the stop beyond "extraordinary circumstances" and safety.