A system outage at a Minneapolis air traffic control facility on August 18, 2026, affected radar and air traffic control systems managing an area covering 330,000 square miles across the Midwest, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.
The outage disrupted flight operations across Minnesota and nine other states including Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Flights were either diverted or held on the ground at multiple airports within this region.
Flight Delays and Operational Impact
On the evening of August 18, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport experienced average flight delays of 90 minutes due to the outage. Although the air traffic control systems
were restored later in the day, disruptions persisted at several airports throughout the Midwest.
The Federal Aviation Administration stated that the outage did not occur at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport itself but at the major air traffic control center responsible for managing flights over the extensive Midwest area.
