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

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented a nationwide ground stop on Friday, November 13, 2026, following communication failures at 22 regional air traffic control centers. US airspace reopened at 8:15pm Eastern Time on November 13, 2026, though officials noted that recovery would be slow. This outage represents the longest nationwide shutdown since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Technical failures and flight disruptions

The technical issues began at 3:36pm when radar and communication systems experienced instability, according to The Straits Times. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the ground stop was due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. The Straits Times also reported that the outage was caused by data overload on switches and routers.

The disruption resulted in massive cancellations across major airlines. Flightradar24 reported that nearly 10,000 flights were cancelled by 11:30pm on November 13, 2026. Specific airline data shows that Delta Air Lines and American Airlines each had more than 2,200 cancelled flights, while United Airlines had 1,800 cancelled flights. While some reports from CGTN and Guangming Daily suggested approximately 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled, other reports indicated higher numbers of delays and cancellations.

International travelers also faced delays. Singapore Airlines reported that three flights departing the US on November 13, 2026, were delayed between 43 minutes and 2.5 hours. These affected flights included SQ11 from Los Angeles to Tokyo, SQ25 from New York to Frankfurt, and SQ33 from San Francisco to Singapore.

Systemic strain and infrastructure needs

The incident highlights ongoing challenges within the US air traffic control system, which faces strain from ageing technology and a shortage of several thousand controllers. The FAA had previously suspended air traffic in the Chicago area due to communication problems.

The cost of maintaining and upgrading these systems remains a point of discussion in Washington. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted that the outage was caused by switches and routers being overloaded with data. While Congress approved 12.5 billion USD last year for system repairs, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has requested 30.1 billion USD from Congress to address these needs. Additionally, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has mentioned a request for US$50 billion to upgrade air traffic control infrastructure.

Glossary

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the body that regulates unmanned aircraft systems. It requires the registration of UAVs weighing more than 250 grams and grants commercial unmanned aerial system (UAS) licenses.
• ground stop — A ground stop is an action issued by the FAA. It can be issued due to equipment outages or for safety reasons.
• air traffic control centers — These are known as Integrated Air Traffic Control and Air Defense Centers (CINDACTA). They are responsible for managing different regions of airspace.
• US airspace — This refers to the sovereign airspace of the United States. Aircraft passing through an ADIZ without entering sovereign US airspace do not have to notify US authorities.