FAA lifts nationwide ground stop after router failure disrupts flights

A communications failure brought departures across the United States to a halt on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, triggering the longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years. The Federal Aviation Administration halted departures nationwide at 3:54 p.m. Eastern after officials detected instability in radar data and communications at 3:36 p.m., affecting facilities that guide planes approaching airports and traveling between them. About 3,500 flights were in the air.

What caused the outage

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the ground stop was necessary because of "a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers." Duffy later emphasized that officials had not lost every radar feed or all telecommunications service, and that the inconsistent information was enough to trigger the shutdown as a safety precaution.

At a Saturday briefing, Duffy said contractor L3Harris had been replacing aging copper communications lines with fiber-optic connections at a remote FAA location because the copper line was being discontinued. During the work, a router began generating more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds, overwhelming other routers and disrupting communications and radar feeds. Investigators were examining whether installation error or faulty equipment caused the failure.

"Our contractor didn’t meet the moment or the equipment didn’t meet the moment," Duffy said.

Two routers from Texas and Arkansas were undergoing testing as investigators worked to determine the cause. Duffy said work in El Dorado, Arkansas, was followed by problems involving equipment in Amarillo, Texas, where a system had been replaced about three weeks earlier. Engineers were examining the routers at an L3Harris laboratory in Florida. Duffy said there was no indication of a foreign cyberattack, while leaving open further investigation if new evidence emerged.

Timeline of the ground stop

• 3:36 p.m. Friday: Officials detected instability in radar data and communications.
• 3:54 p.m. Friday: FAA halted departures nationwide.
• 4:16 p.m. Friday: Duffy announced an investigation into the communications problem.
• 8:15 p.m. Friday: FAA lifted the nationwide ground stop, allowing departures to resume.

Impact on travelers and sports teams

The disruption stranded travelers and disrupted professional and college sports teams ahead of a busy weekend. Texas had already boarded its plane for Baton Rouge to face LSU when the ground stop prevented departure. Tennessee’s scheduled 4 p.m. flight to College Station was also halted. Teams including Ole Miss, Tennessee and Baylor returned to their athletic facilities, while some teams sat aboard charter planes for up to two hours.

The Brooklyn Nets were trying to fly from New Orleans to Memphis when their flight was halted, according to The Associated Press. The Memphis Grizzlies were also in New Orleans for a Friday game against the Pelicans. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls had planned postgame flights. The San Jose Sharks’ flight to Utah for a Saturday game did not depart before the shutdown, while the Detroit Pistons had reached Miami earlier Friday.

By 2 p.m. ET Sunday, 5,280 flights had been delayed and 1,709 canceled within, into or out of the U.S., according to FlightAware. Dallas Fort Worth, Atlanta and Chicago O’Hare were among the hardest-hit airports.

Official response

President Donald Trump brought federal agencies together on a call Friday, including intelligence officials, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Intelligence partners reported they were not detecting the usual signs of a cyberattack, Duffy said. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication of a nefarious attack.

"There’s no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for your loved ones," Mullin said.

Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and White House director of communications, said on X that the White House and administration had acted within minutes of the FAA notice.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby praised the FAA’s decision to halt flights and called for better technology and full staffing to help prevent future outages. "This moment must be a call to action," Kirby said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. "It is critical for safety, our passengers, and our economy that we fix our nation’s Air Traffic Control system now."

Duffy said work in El Dorado, Arkansas, was followed by problems involving equipment in Amarillo, Texas, where a system had been replaced about three weeks earlier. Engineers were examining the routers at an L3Harris laboratory in Florida.

Why it matters

The outage exposed vulnerabilities in the FAA’s telecommunications infrastructure and caused widespread travel disruption that continued through the weekend, with thousands of flights delayed or canceled and sports schedules reshuffled.

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Sources

• foxnews.com: How a router failure halted flights nationwide for over 4 hours | Fox News
• bbc.com: Judge blocks Trump closure of 'Trash Island' Washington DC golf course

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.