On August 25, 2026, the FAA held 11 airports across the United States under a total of 18 delay programmes. The worst-hit airport was San Francisco International (SFO), where ground delay programmes caused peak arrival delays reaching 112 minutes.
Overview of Affected Airports and Programmes
The affected airports included DAL, DCA, DEN, DFW, MCO, MIA, ORD, PHX, SAN, SFO, and YUL. The programmes consisted of 5 Ground Stop Programmes, which hold departures bound for airports on the ground at their origin, 3 Ground Delay Programmes that meter arrivals by assigning later departure times, and 10 General Arrival and Departure Delay Info notices.
Ground Stop Programmes impacted five airports: YUL experienced a ground stop due to a disabled aircraft on the runway lasting 4 hours and 20 minutes from 00:00 to 04:20 UTC. Denver International (DEN), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), and Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) faced ground
stops prompted by thunderstorms for durations between 20 minutes and 1 hour. San Francisco (SFO) also had a 20-minute ground stop attributed to other reasons.
Ground Delay Programmes were active at San Francisco for 14 hours (02:20–16:20 UTC) with peak average delays of 40 minutes and maximum delays reaching 112 minutes caused by low ceilings and other reasons. San Diego International (SAN) faced a 4 hour 20 minute ground delay programme linked to airport volume, with peak average delays of 26 minutes and maximums of 74 minutes. Denver experienced a 1-hour ground delay due to thunderstorms with peak average delays
of 26 minutes.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YUL | Ground Stop Programs | disabled aircraft on the runway | – | 00:00 to 04:20 (4 hours 20 minutes) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 01:00 (1 hour) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 12:20 to 13:20 (1 hour) |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:20 to 00:20 (20 minutes) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Stop Programs | other | – | 01:40 to 02:00 (20 minutes) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Delay Programs | other; low ceilings | 40 min | 02:20 to 16:20 (14 hours) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Delay Programs | airport volume | 26 min | 00:00 to 04:20 (4 hours 20 minutes) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 26 min | 00:00 to 01:00 (1 hour) |
| Denver International (DEN) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | ZDV / WX:Thunderstorms; WX:Thunderstorms | 61 min | 00:00 to 02:00 (2 hours) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | OTHER:Flight Check; RWY:Construction | 46 min | 00:00 to 01:20 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms | 31 min | 12:40 to 22:20 (9 hours 40 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | VOL:Compacted Demand | 31 min | 14:20 to 22:40 (8 hours 20 minutes) |
| Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | VOL:Volume | 16 min | 12:40 to 22:20 (9 hours 40 minutes) |
| Orlando International (MCO) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | TM Initiatives:MIT:WX | 16 min | 20:20 to 21:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
Main Causes Behind Delay Programmes
The principal causes driving the 18 delay programmes were disabled aircraft on the runway and airport volume, each accounting for 14 samples. Thunderstorms closely followed with 13 samples, while low ceilings caused 12 samples. Other causes, including construction and flight checks, were noted 9 times.
Severe thunderstorm activity was a key factor during the day at multiple airports including DEN, DFW, PHX, and MIA, resulting in both ground stops and general delay advisories. Airport volume constraints affected SAN and ORD, with SAN also registering compacted demand late in the day. The disabled aircraft on the runway caused
a prolonged initial ground stop at YUL lasting over four hours in the overnight period.
Comparison With Previous Day and Weekly Average
Compared to the previous day, the FAA delay programmes decreased in number from 23 to 18, impacting 11 airports instead of 15. This represents a decline of four total programmes and four fewer airports under delay measures. Relative to the recent seven-day average—18.7 affected airports—the total number for August 25 was below average. None of the programmes on this day reached the highest peak arrival delay in the 7-day tracking window.
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 69 samples taken between 00:00 and 22:40 UTC on 2026-08-25. 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.
