FAA issues nationwide ground stop due to communication failures in air traffic control

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for all United States airports on Friday, November 14, 2026, following communication failures in air traffic control centers. The ground stop was lifted at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET on the same day. The outage caused significant disruption to aviation, resulting in 10,543 flight delays and 3,580 flight cancellations within, into, or out of the United States, according to FlightAware.

Causes of the communication outage

The disruption was caused by communication failures affecting Air Route Traffic Control Centers. These issues occurred during routine maintenance performed by a contractor to switch telecommunication lines from copper wire to fiber. A newly installed router caused a flood of data to other routers within the air traffic control system. While the Federal Aviation Administration activated a new air traffic management tool called Smart at all 22 United States air route traffic control centers three days prior to the outage, officials provided conflicting views on the cause.

United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the outage was caused by a router flooding other routers during maintenance, not the new Smart system. Secretary Duffy also noted that the Federal Aviation Administration relies on aging infrastructure that lacks the high-speed fiber networks used by other sectors. Conversely, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin suggested that the technology or equipment was overwhelming the old system. Secretary Mullin stated that the outage was mechanically driven and there is no evidence of a cyber-attack.

Impact on flights and airports

The scale of the disruption was substantial, with more than 3,500 airplanes in the air when the ground stop was issued. In Chicago, air traffic had already been suspended prior to the nationwide ground stop order. Los Angeles International Airport experienced significant delays and cancellations, including over 600 flight delays and over 280 flight cancellations. Regarding international travel, the Federal Aviation Administration stated that inbound international flights were to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Historical context of ground stops

The Friday ground stop was the second full nationwide ground stop in the United States since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The most recent full nationwide ground stop prior to this event occurred in 2023 and lasted for approximately 90 minutes. That 2023 disruption was caused by a failure in a pilot notification system.

Glossary

• Federal Aviation Administration — The Federal Aviation Administration is a major airworthiness regulatory authority. It is one of the organizations that provides air navigation services within the National Airspace System.
• ground stop — A ground stop is an order issued by the FAA. It can be used to cause delays or cancellations for flights.
• Air Route Traffic Control Centers — Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) are air traffic control facilities. They are operated by employees within the Air Traffic Organization (ATO).
• Smart — Smart is an air traffic management tool. It is used at air route traffic control centers.