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TL;DR
The FAA halted departures nationwide on Nov. 13 after officials reported instability affecting radar and communications at air traffic facilities. The stop lasted about 4 hours and 23 minutes; officials said there was no evidence of a cyberattack, but the agency has not published a written root-cause report.
The FAA halted departures at airports across the United States on Friday, Nov. 13, after officials reported instability affecting radar and communications at air traffic facilities. The nationwide ground stop began at about 3:53 p.m. ET and was lifted at about 8:16 p.m., a period of roughly four hours and 23 minutes according to FAA advisory times. Officials have described equipment and communications problems, but have not published a written report identifying the root cause.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA experienced instability beginning at 3:36 p.m. ET at en route centers and approach control facilities around the country. He attributed the disruption to older analog telecommunications switches and routers that, in his account, were overloaded with data and produced inconsistent information. Duffy said it was not a complete loss of radar or telecommunications.
The FAA’s Command Center advisories show problems emerging earlier around Chicago. At 3:21 p.m., one advisory cited equipment issues behind arrival delays and airborne holding at O’Hare. The FAA then halted departures to O’Hare and Midway before issuing a nationwide order at about 3:53 p.m. The agency’s public statement said communication issues affected multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers and that technicians were investigating.
Duffy said more than 3,500 aircraft were airborne when the nationwide stop began and fewer than 400 remained in the air by 8 p.m. The FAA allowed certain medevac, life-saving cargo and law enforcement flights to continue. It began lifting the nationwide restriction as facilities recovered, with some international departures released before the stop was formally cancelled.
FAA ground stop · Nov 13, 2026 · times ET (UTC−5)
Unreliable data, a full stop, a slow restart
What the FAA Command Center’s advisories and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy describe, step by step.
US airspace (schematic)
plane (schematic)airports
3,500+ planes in the airwhen the stop began, Duffy says Fewer than 400still airborne by 8 p.m. ET, Duffy says Restartground stop cancelled; flights resume slowly
What the FAA and Duffy said
- 3:21 p.m.Chicago O’Hare: arrival delays “due to equipment issues”FAA advisory 106
- 3:36 p.m.Radar and communications unstable at centers and TRACONs nationwideDuffy
- 3:54 p.m.“All airports are ground stopped”; departures heldFAA advisory 111
- 4:20 p.m.Airborne holding expected at “any and all airports”FAA advisory 116
- 8 p.m.Fewer than 400 planes still airborne, down from 3,500+Duffy
- 8:16 p.m.Nationwide ground stop cancelled; Duffy: airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m.FAA advisory 005
Sources: FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center advisories 106, 111 and 116 (Nov 13) and 005 (Nov 14, 2026, UTC dates); Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at the White House briefing, Nov 13 (transcript: Roll Call Factba.se) and on X (as quoted by Fox Business); BBC News, Nov 14. Durations: own calculation from advisory event times (2026: 20:53 to 01:16 UTC; 2023: 12:20 to 14:00 UTC). The radar picture is a schematic, not real traffic.
Graphic: Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
How the Stop Disrupted Air Travel
A nationwide ground stop can affect far more than flights waiting to depart. Aircraft already in the air may need to hold, divert or adjust their routes, while delayed departures leave planes and crews out of position for later trips. The FAA advisories described airborne holding and coordination between recovering facilities and the Command Center, showing that the disruption required a managed recovery rather than a simple restart.
FlightAware recorded 9,159 cancellations within, into or out of the United States on Friday, and 3,515 additional cancellations by 7:58 a.m. ET Saturday. Those figures cover all cancellations in those periods, not only those caused by the ground stop, so they should not be read as a direct count of flights cancelled because of the FAA action. The disruption also reached international operations: the source report says Eurocontrol suspended US-bound departures from member states at the FAA’s request, while flights from Canada and Sydney were also affected.
For travelers, the practical effects can continue after the restriction ends. Airlines must reconnect aircraft with crews and passengers, and a delayed flight can affect later services. For companies that rely on air cargo or time-sensitive travel, even a temporary nationwide interruption can complicate schedules. The event also renewed attention to the age and resilience of the systems used to manage US air traffic.
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From Chicago Delays to a National Stop
The FAA Command Center’s advisories trace the disruption from local problems to a nationwide response. The first equipment-related notice cited in the source appeared at 3:21 p.m. ET for O’Hare. At 3:28 p.m., departures to the airport were stopped from across the United States and from several Canadian airports, with the advisory citing equipment and communications issues. Midway followed at 3:31 p.m.
At 3:54 p.m., the Command Center issued a nationwide ground-stop advisory, stating that departing traffic should remain on the ground until further notice. It said inbound international flights would be handled case by case. Later advisories cited a nationwide communications failure and described steps to keep flight plans active longer while aircraft waited. At 8:19 p.m., the FAA posted that the national stop had been cancelled, with the cancellation advisory listing 8:16 p.m. as the effective time.
FAA en route centers largely manage aircraft between airports. A 2023 FAA-commissioned review counted 21 such centers, according to the source material. The FAA’s new AI traffic tool, SMART, was not connected to the equipment officials identified, according to Duffy and the tool’s maker. The source material also says Duffy called for $50 billion for a new system and warned that similar disruptions could happen again without investment.
“The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers.”
— The FAA, in a public statement on Friday
Root Cause Still Under Investigation
Officials have not released a written root-cause report, and the FAA’s initial public statement described its account as preliminary and subject to change. Duffy’s explanation points to overloaded older telecommunications equipment and inconsistent data, but the source material does not include a technical report independently establishing which components failed, why they were overloaded or how the problem spread among facilities.
Mullin said officials had seen no evidence of a cyberattack and that the event appeared mechanically driven, but he also said investigators would not rule out a cyberattack. Duffy and the maker of the SMART traffic tool said it was not connected to the failed equipment. The available information does not establish whether that investigation is complete or whether other contributing factors were found.
The cancellation totals also have limits: FlightAware’s daily figures include cancellations unrelated to the ground stop. The precise number of cancellations directly caused by the FAA’s order is not provided in the source material. Nor does it give a confirmed estimate of affected passengers or a final accounting of delays and diversions.
FAA Findings and Modernization Plans
The immediate next step is for the FAA to complete its investigation and explain the technical cause, the scope of the equipment problem and what repairs or safeguards have been put in place. Until the agency releases more detailed findings, the available explanation rests on officials’ statements and the Command Center’s operational advisories.
Duffy has argued that the country needs a new air traffic system and said he wants $50 billion for that work. He warned that disruptions could recur without funding, but the source material does not specify a timeline for the proposed modernization or say whether Congress has approved the requested amount. Travelers should check with airlines for updates on individual itineraries, as the nationwide order’s end did not by itself resolve airline schedules and crew disruptions.
Key Questions
Why did the FAA stop departures nationwide?
The FAA said communications issues at multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers led it to impose the stop. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described instability affecting radar and communications and attributed it to older telecom equipment producing inconsistent data. A written root-cause report has not been published.How long did the ground stop last?
FAA advisory times show the nationwide stop began at about 3:53 p.m. ET on Nov. 13 and was cancelled effective about 8:16 p.m. That is roughly four hours and 23 minutes.Was the disruption caused by a cyberattack or the SMART AI tool?
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had found no evidence of a cyberattack, while saying they were not ruling one out. Duffy and the SMART tool’s maker said SMART was not connected to the equipment involved.How many flights were cancelled because of the stop?
The source material does not give a confirmed total attributable solely to the ground stop. FlightAware counted 9,159 cancellations within, into or out of the United States on Friday, but that daily figure includes cancellations for other reasons as well.Could another nationwide stop happen?
Duffy warned that similar disruptions could occur again without investment in a replacement system. That is his assessment; the source material does not establish that another stop is expected or provide a timeline for system modernization.Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
