FAA grounds all scheduled departures nationwide after communications outage
FAA grounds all scheduled departures on Nov. 13, 2026 while technicians investigate a communications outage at Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop on November 13, 2026, ordering that all flights scheduled to depart from U.S. airports remain on the ground because of an urgent communications failure affecting air-traffic control. Aircraft already airborne were allowed to land, but departures were halted until further notice.
FAA technicians investigating Air Route Traffic Control Centers outage
FAA officials said the interruption involved communications at Air Route Traffic Control Centers and that technicians were working to identify and fix the fault. The agency added that international departures would be considered individually on a case-by-case basis.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy posted on X that the ground stop was “a result of a communication issue” and that the cause was under investigation. In an official post on the department’s account he wrote: "The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them." — Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026.
Flight tracking service FlightAware reported that nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled after the nationwide departure ban took effect, a disruption that stretched across the U.S. airport network and resulted in widespread disruption for passengers and carriers.
This marks only the second time since the September 11, 2001 attacks that U.S. authorities have issued a nationwide ground stop. The previous national halt occurred in January 2023, when the FAA temporarily suspended domestic departures for less than two hours.
Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to upgrade the FAA’s aging communications systems, and today the FAA and the White House asked lawmakers for an additional $30.1 billion to address other long-standing problems in the aviation infrastructure.
Photo: Veb-stranica na Amerikanskata Federalna uprava za avijacija
