Definition
A Ground Stop is a traffic management action issued by Air Traffic Control that prevents aircraft meeting specific criteria from departing. It is used to manage demand into a destination airport or through a portion of airspace when capacity has been reduced by weather, equipment outages, runway closures, volume, or other constraints. Affected flights are held at their departure airports until the Ground Stop is lifted or amended.
Plain English
Air Traffic Control is telling certain flights they cannot take off yet because their destination, or the airspace they need to fly through, cannot accept them right now. The aircraft stays on the ground until the hold is lifted.
Context Anchor
Seen before departure when checking delay information or talking with air traffic control about whether a flight may leave.
Why Pilots Care
It creates departure delays that affect schedules, fuel planning, and crew duty time.
Intuition Check
A Ground Stop is not just one aircraft being told to pause. It is a wider traffic control action that keeps selected flights on the ground before they depart.
Example Sentence 1
Dispatch advised the crew that a Ground Stop had been issued for all flights inbound to Newark until 1800Z due to thunderstorms.
Example Sentence 2
The controller canceled our clearance due to the ground stop caused by thunderstorms over the arrival airport.