Today's Liberal News

The Atlantic Photo Desk

Scenes From the Nationwide Ground Stop

On Friday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare ground stop at all U.S. airports, citing “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Across the country, departing flights were held for hours before the stop—attributed to a telecommunications outage—was lifted, disrupting travel plans for some 1.5 million people. As planes start to take off again, thousands of passengers are still stuck on the ground.