On October 3, 2026, the FAA held 10 airports under 14 delay programs across the United States. The worst-hit airport was Orlando International (MCO), where a ground delay program in force for 22 hours peaked at a maximum delay of 754 minutes.
Overview of Airport Delay Programs
The affected airports included Orlando International (MCO), San Diego International (SAN), Boston Logan International (BOS), Denver International (DEN), Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), Washington Dulles International (IAD), Philadelphia International (PHL), Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA), Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), and BFI.
There were four Ground Stop Programs, which hold departures at their origin airports destined for the affected airport, and two Ground Delay Programs that meter arrivals by assigning later departure times. The remaining eight programs consisted of general arrival and departure delay information, which track delays without controlling flight departures.
The longest delay program was a Ground Delay Program at San Diego International,
lasting 22 hours from 00:00 to 22:00 UTC. This program recorded a peak average delay of 107 minutes and a peak maximum delay of 754 minutes.
Orlando International had a Ground Stop Program due to thunderstorms active for 40 minutes between 19:40 and 20:20 UTC. Although this ground stop program recorded zero average and max delays, an overlapping general delay program was in effect from 19:20 to 20:40 UTC with peak average delays of 31 minutes and max delays of 45 minutes.
Boston Logan faced a Ground Delay Program for 5 hours 20 minutes from 13:20 to 18:40 UTC caused
by runway construction, peaking at an average delay of 27 minutes and max delay of 97 minutes. Seattle-Tacoma’s delay program lasted 6 hours 20 minutes with runway construction cited as the cause and a peak average delay of 31 minutes.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando International (MCO) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 19:40 to 20:20 (40 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Stop Programs | aircraft emergency | – | 00:00 to 00:20 (20 minutes) |
| Denver International (DEN) | Ground Stop Programs | aircraft emergency | – | 20:00 to 20:20 (20 minutes) |
| BFI | Ground Stop Programs | low ceilings | – | 20:40 to 20:40 (20 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Ground Delay Programs | airport volume; VOLUME; WIND | 107 min | 00:00 to 22:00 (22 hours) |
| Boston Logan International (BOS) | Ground Delay Programs | runway construction; RWY | 27 min | 13:20 to 18:40 (5 hours 20 minutes) |
| Washington Dulles International (IAD) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms | 121 min | 00:00 to 02:40 (2 hours 40 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | VOL:Compacted Demand; RWY:Disabled Aircraft | 61 min | 00:00 to 18:20 (18 hours 20 minutes) |
| Philadelphia International (PHL) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms | 45 min | 00:00 to 00:40 (40 minutes) |
| Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | RWY:Construction | 31 min | 16:00 to 22:20 (6 hours 20 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms | 31 min | 14:20 to 19:00 (4 hours 40 minutes) |
| Orlando International (MCO) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Thunderstorms | 31 min | 19:20 to 20:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Rain | 16 min | 00:00 to 00:40 (40 minutes) |
| BFI | General Arrival/Departure Delay Info | WX:Low Ceilings | 16 min | 19:40 to 19:40 (20 minutes) |
Thunderstorms and Construction Drove Most Delays
Thunderstorms were the leading cause driving 29 of the 68 sampled delay snapshots and were cited at Orlando, Washington Dulles, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Philadelphia airports. Airport volume and runway construction followed as key reasons, cited in 24 and 20 samples respectively. Wind and runway construction combined reached 27 samples contributing to delays.
Ground Stops at MCO were due specifically to
thunderstorms, while San Diego’s extensive ground delay program was attributed to airport volume and wind conditions. Airports like Denver and San Diego had ground stops or delays related to aircraft emergencies and disabled aircraft respectively. Boston and Seattle experienced delays predominantly linked to runway construction and its associated restrictions.
Delay Levels Down from Previous Day and Weekly Average
Compared to October 2, which had 15 affected airports with 22 total programs, October 3 shows a decrease in both airports affected (10) and total programs (14), down by 5 from the previous day. The average number of airports affected over the past week is 14.3, indicating that October 3 was
also below the recent weekly average for airport delays.
The worst delay maximum of 754 minutes occurred during San Diego’s Ground Delay Program, but overall the day was less impacted than the preceding day in terms of program count and airport involvement.
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 22:20 UTC on 2026-10-03. 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.
