Update: The nationwide ground stop remains in effect, but the Federal Aviation Administration said some flights will be allowed to depart as affected facilities recover.
The FAA issued the update at 5:45 p.m. EST Friday after a telecommunications outage affected regional air traffic control centers. The current FAA advisory lists the event through 11 p.m. EST, but it does not give a complete restart time for all departures.
The FAA said flights already in the air were accounted for and international flights would be handled case by case. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said technicians were investigating communications problems affecting the regional centers that direct aircraft between airports.
Because the order covers departures nationwide, it can disrupt theme park trips even when a traveler's destination airport is far from the original connection. Travelers heading to Orlando, Southern California or another park destination should check their airline's current flight status before leaving for the airport.
For flight-specific delays, travelers need to check their airlines, as noted in the FAA's daily air traffic report.
Sources: FAA ground-stop advisory 120, Associated Press live coverage, FAA air traffic report and Axios.
The FAA image is a general air traffic report photograph and does not document Friday's outage.