The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on all departing flights on Friday, November 13, 2026, "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." The FAA's advisory said all departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice.
What We Know
- The FAA's order covered all departing aircraft across the United States.
- Flights already in the air continue. United said its airborne flights would continue and that new domestic flights wouldn't depart while the ground stop remained in place.
- The FAA said inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA issued the stop "following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers" and that FAA technicians are investigating.
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was "no indication as of yet" that anything nefarious caused it, and called it a telecommunications outage "as of now."
Latest Status
This is a developing story. At 5:17 PM ET on November 13, the FAA's airport status page no longer showed a national ground stop, but we haven't seen the FAA say the order was lifted. Check the FAA and your airline for the current status.
How Rare This Is
A nationwide ground stop is rare. The FAA ordered one after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
What to Do If You're Flying
Check your airline's app or website for your flight's status, and expect delays to carry over after the stop is lifted. We'll update this article as the FAA and airlines share more.
