Hawaii DOT: All West Coast flights halted by SpaceX debris after FAA ground stop

Hawaiʻi’s Department of Transportation said Friday that all flights between the islands and the U.S. West Coast had been halted because of debris from a SpaceX launch. The suspension came after those routes had briefly resumed following an earlier nationwide FAA ground stop, triggered by a communications problem affecting air traffic control centers. SpaceX had launched its Starship rocket from Texas; its first-stage booster malfunctioned and fell into the Gulf after an automatic abort, while the spacecraft continued toward orbit. Federal officials were investigating the air-traffic communications failure but had not given a timeline for normal service to return.

Interisland flights remained active, and travelers were urged to check directly with their airlines because restrictions and flight plans were changing quickly. Hawaiʻi transportation officials said the initial ground stop covered domestic flights to and from the continental United States, with international flights first unrestricted and later affected by some conflicts. Airport staff were repositioning aircraft and considering taxiways and runways for parking to accommodate arriving planes. Hawaiian and Alaska airlines offered flexible changes for affected passengers, while warning that operations would take time to recover even after the ground stop ended. The disruptions illustrate how the FAA’s nationwide restrictions and the separate SpaceX debris-related halt compounded delays for Hawaiʻi’s West Coast air travel.