The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop for all flights bound for the United States at approximately 4 p.m. Eastern on November 13, 2026, following telecommunications problems affecting nearly two dozen U.S. Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The ground stop lasted roughly five hours and caused Canadian airports including Calgary International Airport (YYC), Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Montreal-Trudeau Airport to suspend all flights to the U.S. on November 13 and into November 14.
Canadian Airports and Airlines Respond to FAA Ground Stop
Calgary Airport Authority confirmed cancellation of all U.S.-bound flights for November 13 with possible delays continuing on other routes. Toronto Pearson International
Airport experienced a full halt of U.S.-bound departures and arrivals with ongoing cancellations and delays during the disruption. Montreal-Trudeau also suspended flights to the U.S. Vancouver International Airport (YVR) reported delays for U.S.-bound departures and some international flights traversing U.S. airspace, though Canadian domestic flights were unaffected. Edmonton International Airport closely monitored the situation and coordinated with airline partners to adjust operations.
Air Canada announced cancellation of all flights to the United States on November 13 and arranged rebooking for affected passengers where feasible, including reroutes to alternate destinations such as Tampa, Florida. Nav Canada, responsible for civil air navigation
in Canada, maintained safe and effective air traffic management in Canadian airspace during the disruption and warned that delays could continue as backlogs were resolved.
Passenger Stranding and Service Disruptions at Canadian Airports
Passengers at Canadian airports experienced considerable disruption amid cancellations and flight delays. Calgary travelers reported being stranded or stuck in limbo; some had boarded aircraft that were delayed before being asked to disembark. At Toronto Pearson, U.S. customs clearance was abruptly shut down, forcing passengers to exit processing areas. Brenda Zhou and her daughter, traveling to Miami where the daughter was due to attend a college soccer camp, were rebooked to a flight to Tampa
for the following evening, causing missed camp sessions and additional unrecoverable costs for hotel and rental car bookings.
A passenger on a flight from Nashville, Tennessee to Toronto had boarded before an air traffic control issue prevented takeoff. Passengers were instructed to deplane and stay overnight at hotels pending rebooking. Samantha Chowen, the passenger, was told there was no guaranteed departure time and was waiting for rerouting confirmation via email.
Officials Confirm No Safety Risk and Call for Aviation Modernization
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated there were no lives or flights at risk during the communications failure and described the FAA response as an abundance of caution. Mullin
explained that installation of new FAA equipment overwhelmed older communication systems but confirmed there was no evidence of a cyberattack. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted uncertainty about whether similar incidents would recur and emphasized the need for congressional authorization of billions of dollars to modernize aviation safety infrastructure.
Ground Stop Lift and Historical Context
The FAA lifted the nationwide ground stop shortly after 7 p.m. Eastern on November 13, 2026. Despite the order being lifted, delays persisted as air traffic controllers and airlines worked to clear accumulated backlogs. This event marked the first national ground stop in the United States since January 2023, when a
key FAA system failed, and the first since the widespread ground stop following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
