A system outage at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Minneapolis air traffic control facility on Thursday, August 20, 2026, disrupted flight operations across Minnesota and nine other Midwest states. The affected airspace spans approximately 330,000 square miles and includes regions in Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
Flight Delays and Ongoing Disruptions
Flights arriving at and departing from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport experienced average delays of 90 minutes on Thursday evening. Despite radar and air traffic control systems being restored later in the day, disruptions persisted at several airports throughout the Midwest. Delays at locations within Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin were anticipated to continue through the evening hours.
FAA Confirmation and Systems Impact
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the outage originated at the Minneapolis air traffic control facility responsible for managing a large portion of Midwest airspace. The failure affected both radar and air traffic control systems, which led to the grounding and diversion of flights. The disruption did not occur at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport but at the control center overseeing this extensive region.
The grounding and holding of flights to maintain safety affected operations across multiple airports in the impacted states, causing significant delays. Passengers experienced long waits
and various flight adjustments as air traffic controllers worked to restore normal service over the large area covered by the Minneapolis facility.
