The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) enforced a nationwide air traffic ground stop lasting about four hours beginning on November 13 and continuing into the early hours of November 14, 2026, due to communications failures at regional air traffic control centres. The shutdown, the longest US national airspace suspension since September 11, 2001, halted all flights bound for US airports and disrupted transatlantic operations.
London Heathrow Airport recorded at least 31 cancelled flights to and from the United States and approximately 20 delayed departures as of 9:45 a.m. on November 14. At London Gatwick Airport, three flights arriving from Orlando,
Florida, scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on November 14, were cancelled amid the FAA’s ground stop.
Airline Responses and Flight Cancellations
British Airways cancelled a New York-bound flight scheduled to depart Heathrow at 10:30 p.m. on November 13, citing the FAA ground stop as the cause. The airline advised customers to proceed to airports as planned to facilitate efficient departures despite delays and apologized for the disruptions. A British Airways spokesperson said, “Customers are advised to travel to the airport as planned so we can try to depart our aircraft as quickly as possible. This is entirely outside of our control and our teams are working
hard to minimise any disruption to our customers.”
Virgin Atlantic also cancelled a London Heathrow to New York JFK flight scheduled on November 13. The airline communicated via a spokesperson that it was closely monitoring the FAA-issued ground stop and advised customers to check flight statuses on its website.
Eurocontrol’s Suspension and Monitoring
Eurocontrol suspended all US-bound air traffic departing from its 42 member states, including the UK, from 22:00 UTC on November 13 to 05:00 UTC on November 14 at the FAA’s request. The Network Manager Operations Centre (NMOC) of Eurocontrol confirmed ongoing close monitoring of the situation with regular updates to stakeholders.
The suspension affected flights from countries including the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Israel, and Morocco.
US Government Explanation and Safety Assurance
US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin attributed the outage to a telecommunication failure that overwhelmed newly integrated technologies within the FAA’s legacy air traffic control system. Mullin ruled out cyberattacks or rogue artificial intelligence as causes and stated that all flights were accounted for, emphasizing that flight safety was not compromised. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the reopening of US airspace shortly after 1:30 a.m. GMT on November 14 but warned that flight delays and disruptions would persist for several days as the system
normalized.
UK Civil Aviation Authority Advisory
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued warnings to passengers about continuing disruptions following the FAA ground stop. Tim Johnson, the CAA’s consumer director, stated that airlines were working to rebook affected passengers and restore normal service. The CAA advised travelers to check with airlines before heading to airports due to expected follow-on delays on November 14 and 15.
The FAA’s nationwide air traffic shutdown in November 2026 represents the longest such pause in the US since the 2001 terrorist attacks. A similar, shorter national ground stop occurred in January 2023, also caused by a system error within the
FAA’s infrastructure.
