The FAA suspended all US flight departures on November 13, 2026, citing communications problems at air traffic control centers. Nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled, and at least 600 were diverted.
The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide order on the afternoon of November 13, 2026, suspending all flight departures across the United States due to communication issues at multiple air traffic control centers. The FAA said technicians are investigating the problem, and inbound international flights will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
The FAA notice said the ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said: “Due to communication issues affecting all air route traffic control centers, the FAA has issued a flight suspension order for all airports in the United States, and technicians are investigating the issue.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the White House that there was no indication yet that “this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage as of right now.” He added: “Everybody’s safe. There’s no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying.”
According to Xinhua, the order led to the delay or cancellation of nearly 7,000 flights. China News Service reported that, as of 17:30 Eastern Time on November 13, there were 9,917 delays in domestic and inbound/outbound flights in the United States, and 953 flights were cancelled.
At least 600 flights have been diverted as a result of the order. As of 5:50 p.m. Eastern, 496 flights were diverted to the airport from where they originally took off, while 104 were sent to a different airport, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Airports where many diverted flights ended up include Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Denver International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Some 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to take off from airports in the US after 4 p.m. Eastern.
The nationwide ground stop was the first since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, and the second since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Earlier that day, the FAA suspended air traffic in Chicago due to communication issues.
The US air traffic control system has long been plagued by problems such as equipment failures and shortages of air traffic controllers. Last year, the US Congress approved an allocation of $12.5 billion for the upgrade and transformation of the air traffic control system. Duffy has said that another $30 billion will be needed to complete the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress to approve it.
The ground stop disrupted travel for passengers across the country, with some travelers stuck at airports and others reconsidering their plans. There is no timeline for restarting flights, and investigators will look at whether there is any link to the FAA’s nationwide rollout of a new AI system to help identify problems and reroute planes.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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