FAA Orders Nationwide Ground Stop After Telecommunication Outage

The Federal Aviation Administration declared a rare nationwide ground stop on Friday, November 13, 2026, after a major telecommunication outage impacted multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The order, issued shortly before 4 p.m., halted all departing traffic across the United States for reasons of safety. The disruption caused over 7,800 delays and 350 cancellations by 4:45 p.m., with significant congestion at major hubs including Chicago O'Hare, Newark Liberty, and Houston-Bush Intercontinental.

While aircraft already in the air were permitted to land and international arrivals were managed on a case-by-case basis, thousands of passengers remained stranded. The grounding occurred on the same day the FAA deployed SMART, a new AI tool for air traffic control. This event marks only the third nationwide ground stop in recent history, following similar occurrences in September 2001 and January 2023.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confirmed that technicians are investigating the communication failure. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin stated that administration officials do not currently suspect a nefarious attack, and law enforcement officials told CNN the event was not a cyberattack. Major carriers including Delta Air Lines and United Airlines Holdings confirmed they held flights in compliance with the mandate.