The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop on November 13, 2026, at about 4 p.m. Eastern Time, halting all departing flights across U.S. airports. The ground stop lasted over four hours and was lifted at 8:15 p.m. ET the same day. According to flight-data firm Cirium, the disruption affected more than 10,000 flights scheduled to depart after 4 p.m., impacting 1.5 million passengers nationwide.
Cause of the Ground Stop
The FAA attributed the ground stop to overloaded telecommunications routers that caused communication failures within multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers. These centers are responsible for managing high-altitude aircraft routing. Transportation Secretary Sean
Duffy stated, “They went down,” referring to the routers. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed there was no indication of a cyberattack and described the incident as “mechanically driven.” The agency halted flights out of an abundance of caution due to the telecommunications outage affecting key air traffic control functions.
Flight Disruptions and Airline Responses
The ground stop triggered widespread delays and cancellations that extended beyond Friday evening. Cirium reported around 600 flights were diverted during the day, with 104 redirected to alternative airports. International departures from coastal hubs resumed before 6 p.m. ET. JetBlue Airways canceled the remainder of its Friday flights, excluding European
routes, and also canceled some Saturday flights to reposition crews and aircraft for operational recovery. The FAA said flights would resume departures in coordination with air traffic control centers as they recovered from the outage.
Rarity and Background of Nationwide Ground Stops
Nationwide flight ground stops are extremely uncommon. Prior occurrences include a January 2023 halt caused by a pilot alert system failure and the blockade immediately following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The current incident underscores ongoing challenges with aging U.S. air traffic control infrastructure, which has faced multiple outages in recent years. A Verizon fiber cable cut in September 2026 caused disruptions in Newark,
New Jersey, and Philadelphia. In 2025, equipment failures at Newark Liberty International Airport resulted in significant delays and reinforced concerns about the outdated infrastructure.
Official Statements and Ongoing Recovery
FAA officials emphasized safety as the priority and reiterated there was no evidence of a security threat. Mullin remarked, “It doesn’t appear to be a cyber attack, and that it appears this was mechanically driven.” Secretary Duffy highlighted the need for increased funding to overhaul the air traffic control system to prevent future failures. Major U.S. airlines committed to assisting affected customers while operations continue to normalize. The FAA continues to manage inbound international flights on
a case-by-case basis as flight schedules gradually return to normal.
