Frontier Airlines had to halt operations Thursday night, and the reason for the groundings has now been confirmed. Technical problems at Frontier Airlines led to a temporary ground stop across all of the budget carrier’s U.S. destinations on Thursday evening, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, per Reuters.
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The Denver-based airline requested a ground stop at 10:33 p.m. GMT, which was lifted just 21 minutes later at 10:54 p.m. GMT, according to the FAA. Frontier later explained that a brief internet outage at its systems operations center prompted the temporary halt in operations.
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) defines a ground stop as an air traffic control directive requiring certain aircraft to remain at their departure airport based on specific criteria.
“The [ground stop] may be airport specific, related to a geographical area, or equipment related,” the NBAA website stated, per Newsweek.
Frontier Airlines Grounding Flights Highlights Heightened Anxiety with Air Travel Following Aviation Tragedy
The swift response and focus on the brief pause highlight the heightened anxiety surrounding any unusual activity involving airlines at this time.
Of course, the nation’s focus turned to air travel on Thursday, following the tragic crash that occurred Wednesday night.
American Airlines Flight 5342, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, tragically collided with a Black Hawk Army helicopter with a three-person crew on Wednesday while approaching landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. All 67 individuals on board are presumed to have lost their lives.
At least 28 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River, including those of the three soldiers aboard the helicopter.
Onboard the plane were members of the Skating Club of Boston. They were traveling home after attending a development camp held following the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Per Newsweek, Frontier Airlines operates a fleet of 159 aircraft, which is just over half the size of JetBlue’s 290. It also falls short of Spirit Airlines’ 212 aircraft and is a small fraction of American Airlines’ impressive mainline fleet of 978 aircraft.
Public attention and scrutiny toward airline disruptions are likely to remain heightened in the near future. Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines has successfully returned to normal operations. Efforts to locate and recover the remaining passengers from the crashed American Airlines flight are still ongoing. Investigations into the incident have been launched by both the NTSB and the Pentagon.