On October 22, 2026, the FAA held delay programmes in effect at 15 airports across the United States. A total of 26 programmes were active during the day. The worst-hit airport was Harry Reid International (LAS), which experienced a peak delay of 570 minutes during ground delay programmes caused primarily by rain and other factors.
Airports, Programmes, and Delay Durations
The 15 affected airports included AUS, BOS, BWI, DCA, DEN, LAS, LGA, MCO, MIA, PHX, SAN, SFO, TEB, YUL, and YYC. The FAA implemented five ground stop programmes, nine ground delay programmes, and twelve general arrival or departure delay information statuses during the day.
Ground stops, which hold departures bound for an airport at their origin, were recorded at Boston Logan International (BOS) for 1 hour due to runway construction, LaGuardia (LGA) for 40 minutes because of airport volume, Denver International (DEN) for 40 minutes also due to runway construction, Harry Reid International (LAS) for 20 minutes caused by rain,
and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) for 20 minutes caused by equipment outage. None of these ground stops recorded average or maximum delays.
Ground delay programmes, which meter arrivals by assigning later departure times, lasted the longest at LAS with 23 hours in effect, causing a peak average delay of 97 minutes and a maximum of 570 minutes. Other notable ground delay programmes included San Francisco International (SFO) with 22 hours 40 minutes of low ceilings, producing peak average delays of 89 minutes and a maximum of 159 minutes, and Boston Logan International (BOS) with a 2-hour programme due to
runway construction resulting in a 55-minute peak average delay and a 279-minute peak max delay.
Denver International (DEN), YYC, Austin (AUS), San Diego International (SAN), and YUL each had ground delay programmes primarily due to runway construction or airport volume with durations ranging from 20 minutes to 23 hours. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) experienced a 2-hour ground delay programme caused by thunderstorms with peak average delays of 40 minutes and maximum delays of 84 minutes.
General arrival/departure delay information was issued for LAS (staffing), DCA (equipment issues), TEB (metering volume), MIA (runway construction and equipment), LGA (wind and volume),
MCO (runway obstruction), SAN (volume), SFO (multi-taxi volume and runway maintenance), and PHX (runway changes and weather initiatives). Durations of these delays varied, reaching up to 23 hours with peak average delays from 14 to 91 minutes.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Logan International (BOS) | Ground Stop Programs | runway construction | – | 00:00 to 01:00 (1 hour) |
| LaGuardia (LGA) | Ground Stop Programs | airport volume | – | 17:20 to 18:00 (40 minutes) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Stop Programs | runway construction | – | 21:40 to 22:20 (40 minutes) |
| Harry Reid International (LAS) | Ground Stop Programs | rain | – | 19:00 to 19:20 (20 minutes) |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Stop Programs | equipment outage | – | 21:20 to 21:40 (20 minutes) |
| Harry Reid International (LAS) | Ground Delay Programs | other; rain | 97 min | 00:00 to 23:00 (23 hours) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Delay Programs | low ceilings | 89 min | 00:20 to 23:00 (22 hours 40 minutes) |
| Boston Logan International (BOS) | Ground Delay Programs | runway construction | 55 min | 00:00 to 02:00 (2 hours) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Delay Programs | runway construction | 48 min | 23:00 to 23:00 (20 minutes) |
| YYC | Ground Delay Programs | runway construction | 40 min | 00:00 to 23:00 (23 hours) |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 40 min | 16:00 to 18:00 (2 hours) |
| AUS | Ground Delay Programs | runway construction | 35 min | 17:00 to 23:00 (6 hours) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Delay Programs | airport volume | 31 min | 16:00 to 23:00 (7 hours) |
| YUL | Ground Delay Programs | runway construction | 14 min | 17:00 to 23:00 (6 hours) |
Runway Construction and Weather Drove Most Programmes
The leading cause of delay programmes reported by the FAA was runway construction, responsible for 72 separate programmes across multiple airports including BOS, DEN, YYC, AUS, and YUL. Low ceilings were the second most frequent cause with 26 programmes primarily affecting San Francisco International (SFO). Airport volume caused 25 programmes, often linked to airport-specific congestion at LGA and SAN.
Staffing shortages were cited
19 times, mostly impacting Harry Reid International (LAS) as a secondary factor alongside rain, which itself was responsible for 13 programmes at LAS and LAS ground stops. Other causes included equipment outages and thunderstorms, each contributing to delays at specific airports such as DCA and PHX.
Comparison to Recent Average
The 15 airports affected by FAA delay programmes on this date matches the recent 7-day average of 15.1 airports impacted, showing no significant deviation from typical delay levels. No data from the previous day is available for comparison.
This report is based on FAA data tracked and aggregated by travelandtournews.com.
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 59 samples taken between 00:00 and 23:00 UTC on 2026-10-22. 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.
