Delta resumes departures after FAA ground stop, warns of slow reset

Atlanta airport crowed with stranded travelers

The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop halting all departures at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to an air traffic control communications issue, prompting Atlanta police to deploy extra patrols alongside neighboring agencies.

ATLANTA - Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is safely resuming departing flights Friday night after federal aviation officials lifted a nationwide ground stop, though the airline warned it will take time to reset aircraft and crews across its network.

What we know:

In an updated statement issued Friday night after the FAA reopened U.S. airspace at 8:15 p.m. ET, Delta confirmed its flights have begun taking off again following the hourslong stoppage.

"Delta is safely resuming operations now that the FAA-mandated nationwide ground stop has been lifted. While flights have started departing, it will take time to reset our operation, including the positioning of aircraft and crews. We thank our customers for their understanding and our people for managing through this disruption," the airline said.

Delta said its flexible travel waiver remains active for passengers looking to adjust their plans. Under the systemwide waiver for travel scheduled Nov. 13–14, customers can change their flights at no extra cost on or before Nov. 21, for new travel on or before that same date, or cancel their trip for an eCredit.

"Our focus remains on taking care of our customers, and we continue to offer flexible options for them to change their flights at no extra cost," Delta said. "Customers should monitor their flight status on the Delta app or delta.com for the latest information. Delta will provide customers with as much notice as possible about changes to flight schedules. When a cancellation does occur, Delta automatically rebooks customers to the next best itinerary."

Earlier Friday afternoon, Delta had paused all departures while the FAA ground stop was in effect, allowing flights already en route to continue to their destinations. United Airlines and several other carriers also issued travel waivers for affected flyers.

At a press briefing, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the outage began at 3:36 p.m. ET when aging analog telecommunications switches and routers at air traffic facilities became overloaded with data, forcing the FAA to halt departures nationwide out of an abundance of caution. Duffy warned that Friday night's recovery will move slowly depending on whether airlines still have pilots and flight attendants available within crew-hour limits, with remaining flights scheduled to resume Saturday morning.

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta's primary hub and the world's busiest airport, live flight-tracking data from FlightAware showed 607 cancellations and 539 delays within, into or out of the United States as of Friday night.

What we don't know:

Delta and federal aviation officials have not said exactly how long it will take to finish repositioning displaced aircraft and crews across the network, or how many additional overnight and Saturday morning flights in and out of Atlanta will be delayed or canceled as schedules reset.