The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a rare nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon, November 13, 2026, grounding all departing flights across the United States “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” The directive, issued around 3:54 p.m. ET by the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center, remains in effect until further notice.
Officials attribute the stop to a temporary telecommunications outage and communication issues impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which manage en-route flights. Parts of the national airspace shifted to “ATC Zero,” meaning controllers could not provide normal services. The problem appears to have begun regionally—reports cite equipment and frequency issues starting in the Chicago area (affecting O’Hare and Midway) and possibly spreading from Kansas City Center or Northeast facilities—before going nationwide. FAA technicians are investigating.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the ground stop followed “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” The FAA later stated: “There has been a temporary telecommunications outage—out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there is no indication of a national security threat or cyberattack, and the outage is unrelated to a separate Microsoft 365 service disruption earlier in the week. He noted President Trump was briefed and took an active role coordinating assets and communications. Planes already airborne are allowed to continue to their destinations; inbound international flights are managed individually.
This is only the second nationwide ground stop since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The previous one occurred in January 2023 after a failure in the NOTAM pilot-notification system and lasted roughly 90 minutes. Flight trackers reported thousands of delays and hundreds of cancellations within hours, with major airports including Chicago, Atlanta, Newark, and others advising travelers to check directly with their airlines. Airports remain open, but departures are halted.
No firm end time has been given. Some FAA advisories referenced a possible window extending toward 11:30 p.m. ET, but officials have emphasized “until further notice.” Travelers should monitor airline apps and airport status, as residual delays are expected even after the stop is lifted.
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