The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop on the afternoon of November 13, 2026, affecting 1.8% of the 26,284 scheduled U.S. flights. By 4:40 p.m. Eastern Time, nearly 481 flights had been canceled or delayed by at least 180 minutes. Major airports impacted included New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago.
Communications Failure at Regional Centers Triggers Ground Stop
The ground stop was caused by communication problems across 22 regional air traffic control centers, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who confirmed the FAA was investigating. The FAA cited extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons for the halt. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated, “this was
a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage,” and assured travelers, “Everybody’s safe. There’s no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying.” The National Weather Service also confirmed, “In case you heard otherwise, there is no radar outage and https://radar.weather.gov is fully operational!”
Chicago Airports Face Flight Disruptions and Stranded Passengers
Chicago O’Hare Airport experienced widespread delays visible on flight information screens, with many travelers facing cancellations and uncertainty. Seattle software engineer Amber McQuilkin canceled or considered abandoning her flight from Chicago to New York for League of Legends finals because of a lack of information. Washington, D.C. attorney Jeff Dubner reported
his Alaska Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., was delayed and halted on the runway before takeoff.
Federal Efforts to Modernize Aging Air Traffic Control Infrastructure
The FAA has been upgrading its outdated infrastructure, replacing copper wiring with fiber optics and modernizing radio systems. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year for technology upgrades, with Transportation Secretary Duffy estimating that an additional $30 billion will be needed to complete the modernization. The FAA is also deploying a new artificial intelligence system to assist air traffic control, though investigations found no indication it was related to the outage.
Safety Assurances and Clarifications
This ground stop marked only the second nationwide ground stop issued
by the FAA since the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the first since January 2023. Officials provided no timeline for resuming normal operations. Despite the FAA ground stop, SpaceX successfully launched its Starship rocket from Texas on the same day. Officials continue investigating the root cause and potential links to the new AI system used in air traffic control.
