November 13, 2026 | Developing coverage
By DuBois Aviation Editorial Team
FAA lifts the nationwide ground stop
Latest update, 5:40 p.m. Pacific: The FAA Command Center canceled the nationwide ground stop at 5:19 p.m. Pacific (8:19 p.m. Eastern) on Friday, November 13, according to FAA Advisory 005. The advisory is dated November 14 because it uses UTC. The nationwide departure hold is over, but individual flights can still be delayed or canceled. Check with your airline before leaving for the airport.
Airline recovery, 6:10 p.m. Pacific: JetBlue said it expected disruptions, including additional cancellations, to continue into Saturday, November 14, according to Associated Press live coverage. That is an airline forecast, not a new FAA restriction. If you are traveling Saturday, check your flight directly with your airline before heading to the airport.
Evening briefing, 7:10 p.m. Pacific update: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said older communications equipment appeared to have been overloaded and warned that air traffic would take time to return to normal. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had seen no evidence of a cyberattack. Those were preliminary assessments, not a final technical finding. NPR coverage of the briefing.
Earlier updates
Update, 3:40 p.m. Pacific: The FAA Command Center said in its 2:46 p.m. Pacific advisory that the nationwide ground stop remained in effect. It said departures would be released in coordination with the Command Center as regional air traffic control facilities recover. That means some flights can depart without the nationwide stop being lifted. The advisory listed 8 p.m. Pacific as the next expected update, not a confirmed restart time.
Update, 5:10 p.m. Pacific: San Francisco International Airport said some flights to Hawaii and Asia were cleared to depart, and Alaska Airlines said its flights within Alaska and between Hawaiian islands were not affected. The airline said it had canceled or diverted some other flights, according to Associated Press live coverage. These limited departures preceded the nationwide cancellation.
The FAA said all flights had been accounted for, and American Airlines expected disruptions through the rest of Friday, the Associated Press reported. Check your airline for your specific departure.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop Friday after communications problems affected multiple air traffic control centers. The order held departures on the ground. The FAA advisory, as reported by NBC Chicago, said inbound flights would be handled individually.
Flying today? Check your airline’s app or website for your specific flight before heading to the airport. The FAA’s National Airspace System status page tracks airport-wide disruptions, not individual bookings.
What the FAA confirmed
The FAA attributed the stop to communications problems at multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which manage aircraft between airports. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said FAA technicians were investigating. Associated Press and Axios reported the agency’s explanation. The FAA attributed the disruption to communications problems; the underlying technical cause was not confirmed.
NBC Chicago reported that Chicago O’Hare and Midway were under separate stops citing an equipment outage shortly before the nationwide order. United told the station that its already airborne flights would continue. A ground stop is a departure hold, not a blanket order for aircraft in the air to land immediately. A hold ending also does not mean every delayed departure leaves at once.
Watch coverage from the day of the ground stop
These reports were recorded during the disruption. For current flight status, use the airline and FAA links above.
FOX 26 Houston: The nationwide departure pause
NBC 6 South Florida: The FAA’s ground stop announcement
Florida Today: What the departure order said
Related background: The FAA’s separate rollout of new controller information displays. The FAA’s initial statement did not establish a link between that project and this disruption.
