A ground stop halted all departing flights at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Thursday afternoon after a regional air traffic control system outage knocked out radar capabilities in the area. The facility affected is the Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZMP) in Farmington, Minnesota, according to reporting from Bring Me The News and travel industry observers.
A Delta pilot told passengers waiting on the tarmac that the issue stemmed from “the airport radar being out in this part of the country,” according to a traveler who posted about the disruption on social media. The outage was not limited to MSP — travelers at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., reported being stuck on the tarmac due to the same issue, suggesting westbound flights were particularly affected.
An MSP Airport spokesperson confirmed the disruption was tied to a “regional FAA air traffic center equipment outage,” not a problem at the airport itself. “Travelers should contact their airline for latest flight information,” the spokesperson said, according to Bring Me The News.
Kyle Potter, founder of travel blog Thrifty Traveler, noted that network issues accompanying the outage were also causing problems for early voting in the South Metro area. The scope of the outage extended beyond just flight operations, affecting broader regional infrastructure that depends on the same systems.
Ground stops tied to air traffic control equipment failures are not uncommon. In January 2023, a major FAA system outage resulted in a nationwide ground stop that grounded or delayed thousands of flights across the country. More recently, on July 28, 2026, the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for American Airlines after an airline IT outage, though that incident was airline-specific rather than a regional infrastructure failure like the one affecting MSP.
As of the time of reporting, the situation remained ongoing, with no estimated time for resolution. Passengers were advised to check with their airlines for updates on flight status and potential rebooking options.
Sources
- Bring Me The News — reported the ground stop, Delta pilot account of radar outage, MSP Airport spokesperson statement, and regional scope of the disruption
- Thrifty Traveler (Kyle Potter) — identified the specific ZMP facility in Farmington, Minnesota as the source of the outage and noted network issues affecting voting systems
- Social media reports — confirmed the outage was affecting westbound flights and airports beyond MSP including Ronald Reagan National Airport
