The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) delay programs held 16 airports across the United States under various restrictions on August 20, 2026, with 33 total programs active during the day. The worst-hit airport was San Diego International (SAN), which experienced the peak maximum delay of 399 minutes in a ground delay program driven by airport volume.
FAA Delay Programs at 16 Airports Across the United States
FAA delay programs on August 20 encompassed 16 airports including major hubs like Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), Philadelphia International (PHL), John F. Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), Newark Liberty International (EWR), and San Francisco International (SFO). Program types included 11 Ground Stop Programs, 8 Ground Delay Programs, and 14 General Arrival/Departure Delay Information entries.
A ground stop holds departures bound for an airport on the ground at their origin, while a ground delay program meters arrivals by assigning later departure times to aircraft.
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) endured the longest Ground Stop Program for 2 hours and 40
minutes from 19:20 to 22:00 UTC due to thunderstorms. Other airports experiencing ground stops for similar durations included Philadelphia International (PHL), Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), John F. Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), Newark Liberty International (EWR), and Teterboro (TEB).
Ground Delay Programs lasted up to 8 hours and 40 minutes at San Diego International (SAN) due to airport volume, marking the longest and highest peak maximum delay with 399 minutes. Philadelphia International (PHL), Newark Liberty International (EWR), and LaGuardia (LGA) also had ground delay programs lasting more than 6 hours, largely driven by thunderstorms.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 19:20 to 22:00 (2 hours 40 minutes) |
| Philadelphia International (PHL) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 20:00 to 22:40 (2 hours 40 minutes) |
| ASE | Ground Stop Programs | other | – | 00:00 to 01:40 (1 hour 40 minutes) |
| Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| John F. Kennedy International (JFK) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| HPN | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| TEB | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| LaGuardia (LGA) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| Newark Liberty International (EWR) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| Orlando International (MCO) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 19:20 to 20:20 (1 hour) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Stop Programs | equipment outage | – | 21:20 to 21:40 (20 minutes) |
| Newark Liberty International (EWR) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 164 min | 15:40 to 22:40 (7 hours) |
| ASE | Ground Delay Programs | SECURITY; security | 161 min | 14:20 to 19:20 (5 hours) |
| Philadelphia International (PHL) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 117 min | 16:00 to 22:40 (6 hours 40 minutes) |
Thunderstorms Drove the Majority of Delay Programs
Thunderstorms were the leading cause of FAA
delay programs on August 20, driving 159 samples. This weather-related cause affected Ground Stop and Ground Delay Programs at airports such as DCA, PHL, JFK, LGA, EWR, BWI, and TEB.
Other significant causes included Traffic Management Initiatives related to weather (TM Initiatives:SWAP:WX) with 52 samples, and airport volume contributing 27 delay programs, primarily at San Diego International (SAN). Security concerns caused 15 programs at ASE, while 27 programs fell under other or unspecified causes.
Equipment outages were cited specifically at San Francisco International (SFO) during a 20-minute Ground Stop Program.
Comparison With Previous Day and Weekly Average
Compared with August 19, 2026, when 10 airports were affected
by 12 delay programs, August 20 saw an increase to 16 airports under 33 programs, an increase of 6 programs. This figure is near the weekly average of 16.3 airports affected and does not represent the highest in our seven-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 68 samples taken between 00:00 and 22:40 UTC on 2026-08-20. 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.
