BNA Halts Departing Flights Amid Nationwide Ground Stop

All departing flights from Nashville International Airport have been halted until further notice following a rare nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon. The stop was ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”

“The [Federal Aviation Administration] issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says in a social media post. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.”

The FAA says inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.

In the rideshare line at BNA Friday afternoon, travelers expressed frustration.

It’s a "mess in there,” one told the Scene. “Why is this happening?” asked another. “Politics?" The two travelers were stuck in a layover, and had already been at the airport for three hours.

The Scene spoke with some travelers who rescheduled their planned flights to Saturday in hopes that the issues will be fixed by the morning.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Friday it is believed the issues were caused by a “telecommunication outage” and that there is “no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack against us.” However, Mullins said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the issue and they “are not ruling out anything at this point.” Mullins said people currently on flights should not be concerned. “We are assured that everybody is safe,” he said.

The unprecedented order is only the second nationwide ground stop called for by the FAA since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The last ground stop was issued in 2023 following issues with a national aviation warning system. 

After-hours trading saw shares of major U.S. airlines take a hit, with American, United and Delta falling between 1 and 2 percent and Jet Blue falling 3 percent. Shares of Southwest Airlines, which offers a major focus city and crew base presence at BNA, were priced at $44.25, down 1.54 percent (a drop of $0.69) in after-hours trading.

Alejandro Ramirez contributed reporting.