The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a full ground stop at all West Coast airports on Monday, as North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.
The stop lasted for about seven minutes, according to San Diego media, citing radio traffic and officials at the San Diego International Airport.
Update (1/5, 11:15 p.m.): This story has been updated with comment from the San Diego International Airport.
Sabrina LoPiccolo, spokeswoman for the airport, told Newsweek that the airport was instructed by air traffic of a national ground stop about 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. No reason was given for the stop, which lasted about five to seven minutes, she said.
"We really don't have any more details," she said.
The FAA has not released further details on the ground stop and did not respond to a request for comment from Newsweek Monday evening.
An FAA ground stop is an order that directs flights scheduled to land at the affected airports to stay at their departure point. Ground stops can be specific to an airport or region and can be related to weather, equipment outages or extreme events. Notably, the FAA issued an order following the 9/11 attacks.
A recording of radio traffic at the Hillsboro Airport, outside of Portland, Oregon, from Monday captures ground control advising pilots of a national ground stop and turning them away.
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