On July 13, 2026, the FAA held 17 airports across the United States under 26 active delay programs, according to daily aggregate data from the FAA’s official feed tracked by travelandtournews.com. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) was the worst-hit airport, with a ground stop program lasting 18 hours and 40 minutes due to thunderstorms.
Airports and Delay Programs Overview
Seventeen airports experienced delay programs ranging from ground stops, ground delay programs, an airport closure, to general arrival and departure delay information. Ground stops, which prevent departures from origin airports heading to the affected airport, accounted for seven programs, the longest being the 18-hour 40-minute stop at ATL driven by thunderstorms. William P. Hobby (HOU) had a ground stop lasting 5 hours from late afternoon, also due to thunderstorms, while Dallas/Fort Worth International’s (DFW) ground stop lasted 3 hours and 20 minutes overnight.
Five ground delay programs, which meter arrivals by assigning later departure times, were noted. The longest ground
delay lasted 22 hours and 40 minutes at San Francisco International (SFO) for reasons classified as ‘other.’ DFW had a ground delay of 4 hours and 40 minutes due to thunderstorms, with an average peak delay reaching 304 minutes and a maximum delay of 1035 minutes. George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) experienced a 4-hour 20-minute ground delay program with peak average delays of 85 minutes caused by thunderstorms.
San Diego International (SAN) recorded notable activity with a four-hour and 20-minute airport closure due to the airport being closed. SAN also endured ground delay programs and general delay information mainly related to
airport volume and other causes.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:20 to 19:00 (18 hours 40 minutes) |
| William P. Hobby (HOU) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 16:20 to 21:20 (5 hours) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 03:20 (3 hours 20 minutes) |
| Orlando International (MCO) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms; THUNDERSTORMS | – | 19:40 to 22:00 (2 hours 20 minutes) |
| George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 16:40 to 17:40 (1 hour) |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) | Ground Stop Programs | low visibility | – | 03:00 to 03:20 (20 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Stop Programs | airport volume | – | 17:20 to 17:40 (20 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 304 min | 00:00 to 04:40 (4 hours 40 minutes) |
| George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 85 min | 18:00 to 22:20 (4 hours 20 minutes) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Delay Programs | other | 61 min | 00:00 to 22:40 (22 hours 40 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Delay Programs | other; airport volume | 48 min | 00:00 to 22:40 (22 hours 40 minutes) |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 35 min | 00:00 to 02:00 (2 hours) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Airport Closures | airport closed | – | 08:20 to 12:40 (4 hours 20 minutes) |
| George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms | 76 min | 13:20 to 20:20 (7 hours) |
Thunderstorms Were the Leading Cause of Delays
Thunderstorms dominated delay causes on July 13, 2026. FAA data indicates 75 samples cited “WX:Thunderstorms” and 65 samples cited “thunderstorms” specifically. All seven ground stops were due to thunderstorms except for two cases—Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) experienced a 20-minute ground stop for low visibility, and San Diego’s ground stop was caused by airport volume. Ground delay programs at DFW, IAH, and DCA were also primarily driven by thunderstorms.
Other notable causes included management initiatives related to weather conditions, referenced as “TM Initiatives:MIT:WX” and “TM Initiatives:SWAP:WX,” which accounted for 36 and 24 samples, respectively. These
programs aim to manage traffic flow affected by adverse weather. A single airport closure occurred at SAN due to the airport being closed over a four-hour period.
Comparison to Previous Day Shows Slight Decline in Delay Programs
Compared to July 12, 2026, when 19 airports were affected by 27 delay programs, July 13 saw a slight decrease with 17 airports affected by 26 programs. There is no available data on longer-term averages to contextualize this change. The reduction is minor but marks fewer airports under FAA delay programs than the previous day.
Methodology. travelandtournews.com samples the FAA’s National Airspace System status feed every 20 minutes throughout the US operating day
and aggregates the result. This report is built from 69 samples taken between 00:00 and 22:40 UTC on 2026-07-13. Durations are the observed window between the first and last sample in which a programme was in force, so a programme’s true length may be slightly longer than shown. Ground stops, ground delay programmes, airport closures and general delays are all published by the FAA in real time; the daily aggregation is ours.
