The Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide ground stop that began at 2:54 p.m. Central Time on November 13, 2026, lasted more than four hours and disrupted air travel throughout the United States. The stoppage resulted from an equipment failure involving FAA’s aging radar and communications systems, caused by a router flooding other routers within the air traffic control network. This triggered system instability and compelled the FAA to halt all departures nationwide before lifting the ground stop shortly before 7:30 p.m. CT.
Prior to the national action, Chicago’s two major airports initiated individual ground stops due to this outage: Chicago O’Hare
International Airport at 2:10 p.m. CT and Chicago Midway International Airport at 2:17 p.m. CT. The FAA also reported that modernization efforts were underway by its contractor L3Harris, who is replacing legacy copper wire systems with fiber optic infrastructure. L3Harris had completed over 70% of this communications upgrade at the time of the incident and stated it is cooperating with FAA investigations into the cause of the outage.
Flight Cancellations and Delays at Chicago Airports and Nationwide
On November 14, 2026, the effects of the FAA ground stop continued with extensive delays and cancellations at Chicago airports. By 1:43 p.m. CT, Chicago O’Hare reported 605 flight cancellations and Chicago
Midway had 72 cancellations. The average delay at O’Hare was 28 minutes, while Midway experienced average delays of 23 minutes. Across the nation, the ground stop contributed to the cancellation of more than 5,200 flights on November 14, with an additional 160 flights canceled for November 15 as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Traveler Disruptions and College Football Travel Changes
Passengers at Chicago O’Hare and Midway faced significant delays with many stranded at the airports amid crowded terminals and parked aircraft awaiting gate availability. The travel disruption affected sporting events as well; the college football game between Mississippi and Oklahoma was rescheduled to Sunday, November 15, due
to travel delays. Several major college football conferences also postponed kickoff times or altered team travel plans, with some teams opting for bus travel to avoid flight delays.
Official Responses and System Recovery Timeline
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy termed the situation an emergency caused by outdated FAA technology and urged Congress to approve billions in funding to modernize air traffic control systems. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no current evidence of a cyberattack, though investigations continue. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford assured the public that full system recovery was expected by Sunday, November 15, with airlines projecting schedule integrity by the end
of that day. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for Duffy’s resignation, citing chronic air traffic controller shortages and communication failures.
Airline Mitigation Measures
American Airlines responded to the ongoing disruption by instituting fare caps on domestic and short international routes and adding 1,750 seats via extra flights on November 14. The airline also allowed pilots and flight attendants commuting to their bases to book confirmed seats and offered premium pay for certain flights to support operational recovery after the ground stop.
