The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on September 11, 2026, after issuing it at 12:08 p.m. due to thunderstorms. The FAA replaced the ground stop with a ground delay program from 6 p.m. to 9:59 p.m. to manage arrivals and departures.
Flights arriving at Atlanta faced average delays of 107 minutes, with some inbound flights delayed as long as 271 minutes. Departing flights from the airport experienced an average delay of 75 minutes, a figure that has been increasing throughout the evening. The ground delay program affects flights departing from any airport
within 1,000 nautical miles of Atlanta, which have received revised departure times under the FAA’s control measures.
The flight disruptions stem from severe weather conditions as thunderstorms moved across metro Atlanta and North Georgia. The CBS News Atlanta NEXT Weather team tracked heavy rainfall alongside these storms, which also posed risks of localized flooding, contributing to the FAA’s operational restrictions at the airport.
Despite the lifting of the ground stop, travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport continue to face significant delays close to two hours. These delays reflect ongoing efforts to clear the backlog caused by the day’s earlier ground
stops and weather-related disruptions.
