BREAKING: FAA Issues Rare Nationwide Ground Stop
on • Updated
The FAA has ordered a rare nationwide ground stop for all departing domestic flights.
Travelers across the country are facing a rare flight disruption on Friday afternoon (November 13). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded all departing flights nationwide. The agency said it acted “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
Flight tracking service FlightAware said nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled because of the ground stop.
What caused it?
“The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” the agency said, adding that its technicians are investigating. An internal Alaska Airlines message seen by CNBC said the issues involved both communications and radar.
The announcement went out just before 4 p.m. EST on Friday.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared an update on X and promised more information as it becomes available. Neither Duffy nor the FAA has given an estimated time for flights to resume or said what caused the communication issue.
The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026
Earlier in the afternoon, the FAA issued a ground stop at both of Chicago’s airports, O’Hare and Midway, because of an equipment outage.
What does the ground stop mean for travelers?
Flights already in the air can continue to their destinations, but planes on the ground can’t take off. The FAA said inbound international flights will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
United Airlines said its flights already in the air will continue, but “new domestic flights will not depart while the FAA ground stop remains in place.”
The FAA advisory lists the ground stop as running through 11 p.m. ET Friday, though the agency could change that. If you’re flying today, check your airline’s app or website for the latest on your flight.
This is only the second time since Sept. 11, 2001, that the FAA has ordered a nationwide ground stop. The last one came on Jan. 11, 2023, after an outage in the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions system. That stop lasted about two hours.
This is a developing story. We’ll update it as more information becomes available.
