On July 14, the FAA held 13 United States airports under 21 total delay programmes. Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) was the worst-hit airport with a peak delay of 646 minutes reported during its ground delay programme.
Delay Programmes by Airport and Duration
The FAA issued five ground stop programmes, which hold departures bound for an affected airport on the ground at their origin, and six ground delay programmes that meter arrivals by assigning later departure times. Additionally, there were ten programmes issued under general arrival/departure delay information.
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) had two programmes: a ground stop for 3 hours 40 minutes due to VIP reasons, followed by a ground delay programme lasting another 3 hours 40 minutes citing ‘other’ and VIP causes, with the latter producing the day’s peak average delay of 164 minutes and peak maximum delay of 646
minutes.
Several airports had ground stops due to thunderstorms, including Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) for 1 hour 40 minutes, Orlando International (MCO) for 1 hour 20 minutes, George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) for 40 minutes, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) for 20 minutes, and DFW also had a ground delay programme related to thunderstorms lasting 2 hours.
San Francisco International (SFO) experienced the longest ground delay programme running for 19 hours with delays averaging 75 minutes and peaking at 242 minutes attributed to ‘other’ reasons.
Other ground delay programmes include San Diego International (SAN) with a 4-hour programme due to airport volume, and
multiple programmes at Dallas Love Field (DAL), Miami International (MIA), Boston Logan (BOS), John F. Kennedy International (JFK), and Philadelphia International (PHL) with general delay programmes lasting from 20 minutes up to over 15 hours.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Stop Programs | VIP | – | 15:00 to 18:40 (3 hours 40 minutes) |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 02:00 to 03:40 (1 hour 40 minutes) |
| Orlando International (MCO) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 20:40 to 22:00 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 12:20 to 13:00 (40 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 00:00 to 00:20 (20 minutes) |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Delay Programs | other; VIP | 164 min | 19:00 to 22:40 (3 hours 40 minutes) |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 88 min | 04:00 to 06:20 (2 hours 20 minutes) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Delay Programs | other | 75 min | 00:00 to 19:00 (19 hours) |
| George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 74 min | 13:20 to 15:40 (2 hours 20 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 69 min | 00:40 to 02:40 (2 hours) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Delay Programs | airport volume | 45 min | 00:00 to 04:00 (4 hours) |
| Dallas Love Field (DAL) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms; VOL: ZFW MIT | 121 min | 00:00 to 15:20 (15 hours 20 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | TM Initiatives:MIT:WX; WX:Thunderstorms | 91 min | 00:00 to 19:40 (19 hours 40 minutes) |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms; VOL:Multi-taxi | 61 min | 02:00 to 16:40 (14 hours 40 minutes) |
Thunderstorms and VIP Priority Drove Most Delay Programmes
Thunderstorms were a major cause, implicated in 39 programme samples, including specific FAA reasons labelled ‘WX:Thunderstorms’ (30 samples) and related traffic management initiatives for weather (26 samples). The other leading cause was VIP activity, with 18 samples. The third most frequent cause was listed simply as ‘other’ with 42 samples, indicating the FAA did not specify a particular reason.
Thunderstorms triggered all five ground stop
programmes except for DCA’s VIP-related ground stop. They also underpinned ground delay programmes at PHX, IAH, and DFW, with notable average delays ranging from 69 to 88 minutes at these hubs.
SAN’s ground delay programme was distinct for citing airport volume constraints, and some general delay programmes referenced volume and traffic flow initiatives, including complex multi-taxi operations at PHX and compacted demand at SAN.
Delay Programmes Were Fewer Than the Previous Day
Compared with July 13, the FAA delay impact on July 14 decreased. Thirteen airports were affected versus seventeen the previous day, while the total number of delay programmes reduced from 26 to 21, representing a net
drop of four programmes.
No average trend data is available for a longer period comparison.
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 2026-07-14. 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.
