On August 26, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) held 12 airports under 15 active delay programmes across the United States. The most impacted airport was Orlando International (MCO), where a ground stop programme in effect for 1 hour 20 minutes due to thunderstorms resulted in peak average delays of zero minutes but a serious operational hold on departures.
Overview of Airport Delay Programmes on August 26
Out of the 12 affected airports, 2 operated under ground stop programmes, 2 under ground delay programmes, and 11 under general arrival or departure delay information, with some airports experiencing multiple programme types. Ground stops hold departures at their origin airports, preventing planes from taking off toward the affected airport, while ground delay programmes meter arrivals by assigning later departure times.
Orlando International’s ground stop lasted 80 minutes from 21:20 to 22:40 UTC, coinciding with thunderstorms. Another ground stop at San Diego International (SAN) lasted 40 minutes in the afternoon due to low ceilings.
Denver International (DEN) experienced a ground
delay programme caused by thunderstorms from 21:00 to 22:40 UTC, with peak average delays reaching 69 minutes and maximum delays hitting 121 minutes. San Diego also had a ground delay programme due to low ceilings lasting 4 hours from 17:20 to 21:20 UTC with peak average delays of 46 minutes and a peak maximum delay of 153 minutes.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando International (MCO) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Stop Programs | low ceilings | – | 16:20 to 17:00 (40 minutes) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 69 min | 21:00 to 22:40 (1 hour 40 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Delay Programs | low ceilings | 46 min | 17:20 to 21:20 (4 hours) |
| Orlando International (MCO) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | TM Initiatives:STOP:WX; WX:Thunderstorms | 46 min | 18:00 to 22:40 (4 hours 40 minutes) |
| Miami International (MIA) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | RWY:Construction; TM Initiatives:MIT:WX | 31 min | 00:40 to 17:40 (17 hours) |
| Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | VOL:Compacted Demand; WX:Low Ceilings | 16 min | 00:00 to 19:40 (19 hours 40 minutes) |
| Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | VOL:Volume; TM Initiatives:MIT:WX | 16 min | 13:00 to 22:40 (9 hours 40 minutes) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | RWY:Construction | 16 min | 18:20 to 22:40 (4 hours 20 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | VOL:Volume; VOL:Compacted Demand | 16 min | 16:00 to 18:40 (2 hours 40 minutes) |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | VOL:Multi-taxi | 16 min | 16:40 to 18:40 (2 hours) |
| Newark Liberty International (EWR) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | TM Initiatives:Metering:DCA | 16 min | 20:20 to 21:20 (1 hour) |
| Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms | 16 min | 21:40 to 22:40 (1 hour) |
| Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | TM Initiatives:MIT:WX | 16 min | 17:00 to 17:20 (20 minutes) |
Causes Driving FAA Delay Programmes on August 26
FAA’s stated reasons for these delay programmes clustered around weather and traffic management initiatives. Low ceilings were the top cause, driving 16 of the delay causes logged. Thunderstorms led to 11 programmes, including the ground stops at Orlando and Denver. Traffic management
initiatives related to weather (coded as TM Initiatives:MIT:WX) contributed to 12 programme causes, often overlapping with thunderstorms.
Runway construction was also notable, causing delays mainly at Miami International (MIA) and San Francisco International (SFO), appearing in 9 causes across programmes. Volume-related causes including compacted demand and multi-taxi operations impacted delays at Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA), Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), and Chicago O’Hare (ORD).
Comparison with Previous Days and Averages
Compared with August 25, there was a slight increase in airports affected, rising from 11 to 12, while the total number of active programmes decreased from 18 to 15. The number of airports affected remains below the recent
7-day average of 17.9 airports per day. This places August 26 near typical levels but with fewer total delay programmes in force than the previous day.
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 2026-08-26. 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.
