Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, Douglas Lindo, says the authority is monitoring the situation after a ground stop order was issued in the United States, grounding flights across that country.

Speaking with Nationwide News just before new time, Mr. Lindo says the situation remains fluid and is a high priority.

The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered the nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon, citing extraordinary circumstances and reasons of safety.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says it followed a communication issue affecting all of the country’s air route traffic control centres. He says FAA technicians are investigating.

Under the order, flights may not depart from US airports, while planes already in the air are being allowed to land. The FAA says incoming international flights are being handled case by case.

That has implications for Jamaica, where most international flights come from or go to the US.

Nationwide ground stops are extremely rare.

The last was in January 2023, when an FAA computer outage halted departures.

Before that, there was one after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Lindo says he’s unable to say at this moment whether a similar order could be issued in Jamaica, given the evolving situation.

Douglas Lindo, Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority.