The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday evening, November 14, 2026, after a telecommunications outage at regional air traffic control centers halted thousands of flights across the country for more than four hours.
The nationwide ground stop took effect at 3:54 p.m. Eastern Time, bringing commercial aviation to a sudden standstill due to what transportation officials termed extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons, according to Al Jazeera. The stoppage affected thousands of departing flights. It led to more than 8,000 flight delays and 7,000 cancellations nationwide, as tracked by FlightAware data cited by NPR.
Scenes from the FAA stoppage: Colorado State is holding a walk-through at Northern Colorado Regional Airport as the team waits to fly to Pullman to play at Washington State on Saturday night. pic.twitter.com/JiKvb9FAJ5
Airspace officially reopened at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Officials confirmed that aircraft already airborne during the stoppage were permitted to continue to their destinations and land safely.
Older Equipment Blamed for Outage
Speaking at a White House press conference on Friday evening, Duffy blamed the nationwide disruption on legacy infrastructure failures at regional air route traffic control centers, which handle high-altitude traffic across the country, as reported by NBC News. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that communication problems prompted the order. This event marked only the second nationwide ground stop since the September 11, 2001, attacks, following a previous system outage in 2023.
The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC.
Air traffic data showed there were more than 3,500 planes in the air when the order was issued across the United States. Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the event was extraordinary.
He said that pilots are trained to handle communications outages due to built-in system redundancies. Air traffic control centers suffered inconsistencies in data from radars and communication links. These centers rely on multiple handoffs between controllers across 21 facilities in the lower 48 states and Alaska.
A nationwide ground stop is a rare but major disruption. It appears to be related to FAA's ARTCCs. @FAANews will be updating Congress and the flying public about the problem, but the incident highlights the need to prioritize modernizing ARTCCs over other projects. No new ARTCC… https://t.co/LtWOt0u0mx
We have old switches, old routers. We use 1980s little copper lines. It’s an old system that went down and went down everywhere. It got overloaded.
Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary
Duffy asked Congress to approve $50 billion to overhaul the national aviation system, noting that legacy equipment will continue to fail without a complete modernization, according to NBC News. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year over five years for air traffic control upgrades.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters that there was no reason to suspect a national security threat or cyberattack behind the incident, stating that federal investigators were reviewing all possibilities.
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.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reassured the public during the press conference that the incident was not a security threat.
Markwayne Mullin, Homeland Security Secretary, reassured the public during the press conference that the incident was not a security threat.
Shutdown Leaves Passengers Stranded and Disrupts Sports
The shutdown left passengers stranded in packed terminal waiting rooms at airports from Dallas to Los Angeles, forcing travelers to seek rental cars, buses, or alternate itineraries, as detailed by CBS News.
At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, passenger Regina Harling waited for hours past her scheduled departure before learning of the nationwide grounding through news alerts on her mobile phone. Other travelers formed long queues at airline service desks and rental car counters while trying to rebook canceled flights or find alternative transport.
The safety of our skies is built on redundancies. Whatever led to the nationwide ground stop will warrant a thorough and complete investigation. As Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member, I'll be demanding answers from the FAA. https://t.co/kCJts7xBRm
The sports world faced immediate disruption as college football teams, NBA franchises, and NHL rosters scrambled to adjust travel schedules for weekend games, according to ESPN. Programs such as Texas and Tennessee returned to their campuses during the ground stop before later resuming travel, while Purdue chartered buses from Indiana to reach its game at Iowa.
Other athletic programs affected by the stoppage included Arizona State, Washington, Kansas State, Minnesota, Baylor, Auburn, and Oregon State, with several universities adjusting game kickoff times or taking buses when flights could not depart.
Baylor will not be flying tonight to BYU. Earliest departure would be Saturday.
“The challenge is you cannot ask anyone here what to do,” passenger Nicholas Erdodi told Al Jazeera.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a ranking member of an aviation subcommittee, called for a complete investigation into the incident, writing on social media that the safety of the nation’s skies relies on built-in redundancies, according to Yahoo.
Airlines warned passengers to expect residual delays and schedule adjustments as carriers work to reposition aircraft and flight crews following the nationwide stoppage.
Earlier coverage: FAA Lifts Nationwide US Flight Ground Stop After System Failures
At 20:54 UTC, the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights departing for US airports due to an equipment outage. At the time, 4,042 flights destined for US airports were already airborne. Watch the next two hours of US air traffic. pic.twitter.com/qbtzX7cMtc
More on Markwayne Mullin
Safety is always our top priority, and we are currently in close communication with the DOT and the FAA amid the nationwide ground stop. We appreciate the patience of the traveling public and the dedication of frontline employees who are navigating this situation. Impacted…
Statement from the Southeastern Conference on FAA nationwide ground stop: pic.twitter.com/IIU4TnwMVJ
GAME UPDATE: Due to travel issues related to Friday’s FAA ground stoppage, the @AuburnFootball at @HailStateFB game start time will move to 4:15 PM ET / 3:15 PM CT. Television network is TBA.#SECFB pic.twitter.com/WUsc7lNuqS
Northwestern made it to Columbus. Minnesota is grounded trying to get to Penn State.https://t.co/7P5Gj5ysyL https://t.co/5pjuZJwQLS
Wheels up to South Bend ✈️ pic.twitter.com/H56uwgfQEA
The FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights. Travelers should confirm their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport.
The FAA-mandated ground stop has been lifted and we are safely resuming flights. We encourage you to check the Delta app or https://t.co/19TGEJUCaj for flight status and the latest updates. Thank you for your understanding as we work as quickly as possible to fully restore…
An FAA-issued nationwide ground stop is currently in effect. No Delta flights are departing at this time. Flights already enroute will continue to their destinations. A travel waiver is in place to allow customers to change their flight at no extra cost.…
The nationwide FAA ground stop has been lifted. Flight delays and cancellations continue. Check with your airline for the latest information.