The United States experienced a major aviation disruption on Friday, November 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop for departing flights, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns.
The emergency directive followed a telecommunications failure affecting all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centres responsible for coordinating aircraft movements across the country.
The FAA instructed aircraft scheduled to depart from US airports to remain on the ground while technicians investigated the problem. Flights already airborne were allowed to continue landing, while incoming international flights were handled on a case-by-case basis.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the disruption, saying FAA technicians were working to resolve the communications problem.
Officials later attributed the outage to problems involving the country’s ageing air traffic control infrastructure. Duffy explained that overloaded routers had begun transmitting inconsistent data, prompting authorities to suspend departures as a precaution.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said preliminary findings showed no indication that the disruption was caused by a cyberattack or a threat to national security.
The incident caused widespread disruption across the American aviation industry, with thousands of flights delayed or cancelled and hundreds reportedly diverted. Passengers were left stranded at airports as airlines worked to reorganise their schedules.
The FAA subsequently lifted the nationwide ground stop after approximately four hours, allowing departures to resume. However, aviation authorities and airlines warned that delays and cancellations could continue as operations returned to normal.
The incident has renewed concerns about the condition of America’s ageing air traffic control infrastructure and the need for investment in modern aviation technology.
It was the first nationwide flight ground stop since January 2023, when a failure involving the FAA’s pilot notification system disrupted air travel across the country.
