Advertisement
FAA Orders Nationwide Ground Stop Across United States Amid Major Air Traffic Communications Outage
From our correspondent
November 13 2026 — The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday, November 13, 2026, issued an unprecedented nationwide ground stop, directing airports across the country to suspend all departing flights because of what the agency described as “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
An official FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center advisory instructed aircraft operators to keep all departing traffic grounded until further notice, while incoming international flights were to be managed on a case-by-case basis. The directive followed a major telecommunications disruption affecting air traffic control operations across the United States. The FAA confirmed that its technical personnel were investigating the situation, while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy disclosed that the communications problem had affected all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
The development prompted concerns about aviation safety and the possibility of a cyberattack. However, US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters that preliminary information had not established any evidence of a malicious attack against the country’s aviation infrastructure.
He described the incident as a telecommunications outage and said authorities were concentrating on restoring communications and ensuring the safe landing of aircraft already in the air. Mullin also cautioned against comparing the situation with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, stressing that the circumstances were different. The Washington Post reported that investigators had not ruled out any possible cause, although officials had found no indication of a deliberate attack at the time. There was also no confirmed connection between the disruption and a Microsoft service outage reported the previous day.
The disruption caused widespread interruptions to air travel, with FlightAware reporting nearly 10,000 delays and more than 900 cancellations by approximately 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday. The Washington Post reported that thousands of aircraft had already been airborne when the directive was issued, while passengers experienced significant delays and uncertainty at major airports.
The incident was particularly notable because nationwide grounding of departing flights is extremely rare: the previous comparable occurrence was in January 2023, when a malfunction involving the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system forced a temporary suspension of domestic departures. The latest disruption therefore raised renewed questions about the resilience of America’s air traffic control infrastructure and the need for continued technological upgrades. Although the precise cause remained under investigation, the immediate priority for US authorities was restoring communications and returning the country’s aviation network to normal operations.
###
Aviation related news:
AirStMaarten Welcomes Third Helicopter to Expand St. Barths Charter Capacity
Getting to St. Barths Is Becoming More Complicated: Book Early or Consider Going by Sea
VirtualFBO.sx Brings Dedicated Ground Handling Support and Operational Coordination to SXM Airport
AirStMaarten Prepares Clients for New St. Barths Flight Scheduling System as COHOR Takes Effect for 2026/2027 High Season
AirStMaarten Launches AirSXM.com 2.0: A Revolutionary Human-Powered Booking-Engine
GCG Brings Aviation, Tourism and Hospitality Partners Together at Princess Sky Lounge
The Caribbean underuses private aviation as an economic sector
###
ADVERTISEMENT
