The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on September 11, 2026, replacing it with a ground delay program active from 6 p.m. to 9:59 p.m. The ground stop began at 12:08 p.m. as a response to severe weather conditions, including thunderstorms and heavy rain, across metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Flights arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson under the ground delay program faced an average delay of 107 minutes, with the longest recorded arrival delay reaching 271 minutes. Departing flights experienced an average delay of 75 minutes, and delays for departures were noted to be increasing throughout
the evening, according to FAA reports.
The ground delay program applied to flights departing from airports within 1,000 nautical miles of Atlanta. The program involved revising departure times to control the number of aircraft arriving within the specified time frame, aiming to manage air traffic flow amid ongoing weather disruptions.
Severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall disrupted flight operations, prompting the FAA to impose multiple ground stops beginning just after noon and continuing with additional restrictions into the afternoon. These conditions also raised concerns over localized flooding in the region, as monitored by the CBS News Atlanta NEXT Weather team.
Passengers
traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson on September 11 faced extended delays approaching two hours for arriving flights and over an hour for departures, resulting in prolonged waiting times at the airport. The delay program was designed to limit arrivals during peak storm impact hours to maintain safety and operational control.
The FAA issued alerts detailing the ground delay program’s intent to regulate arrival volumes from 6 p.m. through 9:59 p.m., replacing the earlier ground stop. The CBS News Atlanta NEXT Weather team continued to track heavy rain and thunderstorms, the primary cause behind the disruptions and air traffic management measures at the
airport.
