FAA cancels nationwide ground stop, an hour after traders doubted it

The Federal Aviation Administration canceled its nationwide ground stop on Friday evening, allowing departures to resume before midnight, The Associated Press and Axios reported. The cancellation came less than an hour after traders had treated an end by mid-evening as a long shot. They are now certain the halt was lifted by 9 p.m. ET.

An independently compiled account of FAA advisories, posted on Reddit, puts the cancellation advisory at 8:19 p.m. ET. The FAA's own advisory page could not be independently retrieved, but AP and Axios subsequently confirmed that the nationwide stop was over, resolving the uncertainty of earlier in the evening.

The swing in expectations was abrupt. Early Friday evening, an end before midnight had climbed to slightly better than even, while an end by mid-evening was seen as unlikely. Both then slid steadily, and the mid-evening bets fell to a long shot. Within minutes of the reported cancellation time they surged back, erasing the entire drop and more. Bets on an end before midnight firmed to certainty first, and those on an end by 9 p.m. ET have now followed.

The FAA ordered the halt on Friday afternoon after communications problems affected regional air traffic control centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said technicians were investigating. Some international flights and flights in Alaska and Hawaii were handled separately while the stop remained in force, according to AP.

Before the cancellation, the same compiled account showed the stop still in effect at 5:46 p.m. ET, with departures permitted through coordination as facilities recovered. Selective releases of that kind fell short of an end to the nationwide order.

What counts as the end is official word from the FAA, the Transportation Department or their authorized representatives that the all-airports halt is cancelled or no longer in effect, even if narrower ground stops or other traffic restrictions replace it at individual airports or regions.

Travel may be slow to return to normal. Departures may resume, but airlines still face disrupted schedules for aircraft and crews, Axios reported. The FAA was investigating the communications problem that prompted the halt.