On July 12, 2026, FAA data tracked by travelandtournews.com shows that 19 airports across the United States were under 27 delay programs. The worst-hit airport was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) with multiple ground stop and delay programs due to thunderstorms and other causes.
Airports Under Delay Programs and Their Duration
Among the 27 delay programs, 4 were Ground Stop Programs, 4 were Ground Delay Programs, 9 involved Airport Closures, and 10 provided General Arrival/Departure Delay Information. Ground stops hold departures bound for an airport on the ground at their origin; ground delay programs meter arrivals by assigning later departure times.
The Ground Stop Programs affected Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Orlando International (MCO), Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA). ATL’s ground stop lasted 2 hours from 17:40 UTC to 19:40 UTC with no average or maximum delays recorded during this period, all caused by thunderstorms. Orlando’s ground stop
lasted 1 hour 40 minutes, DFW’s 1 hour 20 minutes, and DCA’s 40 minutes, all also due to thunderstorms.
Ground Delay Programs were active at Dallas/Fort Worth for 4 hours with peak average delays of 52 minutes and peak maximum delay of 105 minutes caused by thunderstorms. ATL’s ground delay program lasted 1 hour 40 minutes with peak average delays of 43 minutes and a maximum of 173 minutes attributed to unspecified ‘other’ causes. San Francisco International (SFO) had the longest ground delay program of 9 hours 40 minutes from 13:00 to 22:40 UTC, peaking at a 37-minute average delay
and 344 minutes maximum delay for ‘other’ reasons.
| Airport | FAA programme | Cause | Peak average delay | In force (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 17:40 to 19:40 (2 hours) |
| Orlando International (MCO) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 17:40 to 19:20 (1 hour 40 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:40 (1 hour 20 minutes) |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Stop Programs | thunderstorms | – | 21:20 to 22:00 (40 minutes) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 52 min | 18:40 to 22:40 (4 hours) |
| Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) | Ground Delay Programs | other | 43 min | 20:00 to 21:40 (1 hour 40 minutes) |
| San Francisco International (SFO) | Ground Delay Programs | other | 37 min | 13:00 to 22:40 (9 hours 40 minutes) |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) | Ground Delay Programs | thunderstorms | 35 min | 22:20 to 22:40 (20 minutes) |
| San Diego International (SAN) | Airport Closures | !SAN 03/071 SAN AD AP CLSD TO NON SKED TRANSIENT GA ACFT EXC PPR 619-298-7704 2603181300-2610010800; airport closed | – | 04:57 to 12:40 (7 hours 43 minutes) |
| PVD | Airport Closures | !PVD 07/028 PVD AD AP CLSD EXC HEL DLY 0430-0945 2607070430-2608150945 | – | 04:57 to 05:00 (20 minutes) |
| DLH | Airport Closures | !DLH 07/028 DLH AD AP CLSD EXC AIRSHOW ACFT AND SKED ACFT DLY 1500-2200 2607111500-2607122200 | – | 04:57 to 05:00 (20 minutes) |
| OPF | Airport Closures | !OPF 07/029 OPF AD AP CLSD TO PRKG EXC 24HR PPR CTC FIXED BASE OPR 2607101100-2607122300 | – | 04:57 to 05:00 (20 minutes) |
| Newark Liberty International (EWR) | Airport Closures | !EWR 06/034 EWR AD AP CLSD TO TRANSIENT GA ACFT EXC 24HR PPR 973-624-1660 2606060400-2607200359 | – | 04:57 to 05:00 (20 minutes) |
| Los Angeles International (LAX) | Airport Closures | !LAX 05/277 LAX AD AP CLSD TO NON SKED TRANSIENT GA ACFT EXC 24HR PPR CTC ATLANTIC AVIATION 310-258-9884 OR SIGNATURE AVIATION 310-410-9605 2605271826-2705281600 | – | 04:57 to 05:00 (20 minutes) |
Airport closures were prevalent early in the day, notably at San Diego International (SAN) for 7 hours 43 minutes and at various other airports including Newark Liberty International (EWR), Los Angeles International (LAX), Daniel K. Inouye International (HNL), Harry Reid International (LAS), JFK, Duluth International (DLH), Fort Lauderdale Executive (OPF) and Providence (PVD). These closures mostly restricted non-scheduled transient general aviation aircraft, except for approved operations, lasting approximately 20 minutes or more depending on the location.
General Arrival/Departure Delay Information covered airports such as Orlando International, Harry Reid International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, and Dallas/Fort Worth International. Orlando experienced average delays up to 61 minutes related to thunderstorms and traffic management initiatives; Harry Reid saw delays averaging 46 minutes due to volume and wind; ATL had average delays of 46 minutes attributed to thunderstorms.
Thunderstorms Drove Six of the Nine Delay Programs
Thunderstorms were cited as a cause in multiple program types across the dataset. Specifically, six ground stop or ground delay programs listed thunderstorms as a reason, including all four ground stops and one ground delay
program at Dallas/Fort Worth and one ground delay program at Ronald Reagan Washington National. General delay information for Orlando and Atlanta also referenced thunderstorms.
Other causes included weather factors such as wind and traffic management initiatives targeting weather impacts. ‘Other’ unspecified reasons accounted for numerous programs, especially for San Francisco International’s prolonged ground delay and Atlanta’s ground delay programs.
Airport closures primarily resulted from operational restrictions affecting certain types of aircraft and were not related to weather delays.
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 56 samples taken between 04:57 and 22:40 UTC on 2026-07-12. 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.
