The Federal Aviation Administration has authorized inter-island flights in the U.S. Virgin Islands despite Friday's extraordinary nationwide ground stop, the Virgin Islands Port Authority informed the Consortium, providing an exception to the sweeping restriction imposed on aircraft departures across the United States.
The development follows an earlier VIPA travel alert announcing that the FAA had ordered a nationwide ground stop on all departing flights on November 13, citing "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety."
The authority confirmed that Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix remain open, although travelers may experience delays and cancellations.
The latest authorization allows inter-island flights to operate despite the broader federal restrictions. However, VIPA has not provided details on specific flights cleared for departure, and the authorization does not establish that restrictions on other routes have been lifted. Travelers are advised to contact their airlines directly for flight updates.
The FAA's national ground stop advisory, issued at approximately 3:54 p.m. Eastern Time, or 4:54 p.m. Virgin Islands time, initially directed departing aircraft nationwide to remain on the ground until further notice, while inbound international flights would be managed individually.
The FAA confirmed that air traffic control communications problems were affecting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which manage aircraft traveling through large sections of U.S. airspace. Federal technicians were investigating the disruption. Earlier Friday, the agency had halted traffic at Chicago airports because of communications problems.
Federal officials have not established the underlying cause of the widespread communications failures or announced a confirmed timetable for restoring normal operations. There has been no verified determination that the disruption resulted from a cyberattack.
For the Virgin Islands, the restrictions raised concerns about disruptions to flights connecting the territory with Puerto Rico and mainland destinations. Although inter-island flights have now received authorization, the potential for delays and cancellations involving other routes remains.
The action represents one of the most unusual interventions in U.S. aviation operations in recent history. The last comparable nationwide departure halt occurred on January 11, 2023, when an outage of the FAA's Notice to Air Missions system disrupted air travel across the country. As The Consortium reported at the time, Virgin Islands flights experienced delays before the FAA lifted its order that morning.
Friday's ground stop is only the second nationwide departure halt since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The FAA's National Airspace System Status page provides operational updates. The Consortium will continue monitoring federal advisories and statements from the Virgin Islands Port Authority concerning local flight operations.
