Edmonton flights caught in U.S. ground stop: check your flight before you leave

Edmonton International Airport says the FAA's order grounds all flights across the U.S., and it is telling travellers to check their flight with the carrier before coming to the airport. The airport is working with its airline partners.

The FAA says a temporary telecommunications outage is behind the stop, which is affecting the Air Route Traffic Control Centers that handle flights crossing the country. Homeland Security says the outage did not stem from a threat, and reports suggest it was not a cyberattack. The FAA has not said how long it will last.

Air Canada says flights to and from the U.S. are affected, and flights to and from the Caribbean and South America may be too. Flights already airborne have been allowed to continue. Calgary says all U.S.-bound departures are held. Vancouver says U.S.-bound departures are delayed, but domestic flights are not affected.

The ground stop has delayed or cancelled more than 11,000 U.S. flights, according to FlightAware. The last time all departing U.S. flights were grounded like this was January 2023, and that pause lasted under two hours.

If you're flying out of YEG this week, or waiting on someone coming in from the States, check your flight before you leave the house.