A nationwide ground stop ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday is still disrupting air travel across the United States on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed. The order was the longest of its kind since 9/11 and was lifted around 8:15 p.m. ET Friday. Airlines are still struggling to recover.
The numbers are large. Flightradar24 data shows nearly 10,000 flights canceled to or from US airports through Saturday. On Friday, November 13, cancellations ranged from about 6,000 to more than 8,860. Delays ranged from 8,000 to over 10,000, according to FlightAware, Flightradar24 and Reuters. On Saturday, cancellations stood between 2,000 and 2,650 so far, along with hundreds of delays. Some early-day tallies were closer to 700–800.
Several carriers took heavy losses. Delta and American Airlines each canceled more than 2,200 flights through Saturday. United canceled about 1,800, and Southwest nearly 1,400. The hardest-hit airports included Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, LaGuardia, Denver, LAX, SFO, JFK, Boston and Newark.
The FAA issued the ground stop at about 3:54 p.m. ET Friday. It applied to all departing flights bound for US airports. The agency cited “extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety.” A communications failure hit radar, radio frequencies and Air Route Traffic Control Centers. It began in the Chicago area and spread. It is counted as only the second nationwide ground stop this century, or the third by some counts.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said overloaded switches and routers shut down while providing inconsistent data. He linked the problem to aging legacy equipment under strain during technology upgrades. Officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, ruled out a cyberattack. New AI tools were not the cause.
Planes already in the air were allowed to land, and some waited hours for gates. International arrivals were handled case by case. At the lowest point, inbound traffic to the US fell to hundreds of flights, compared with thousands normally. Airspace reopened Friday evening after system testing. Delta, American, United and others resumed operations, but aircraft and crews are out of position. Passengers reported being stranded overnight, pulled off planes or stuck in long queues. Some said the delays brought back anxiety from 9/11. Flights to and from Europe, Canada and Asia were also disrupted, and college football teams, including NCAA programs, chartered buses or changed schedules.
Officials expect the system to stabilize before the Thanksgiving rush. They have warned of possible future issues with old infrastructure and are seeking more modernization funding. The FAA advises travelers to contact their airlines for updates, and real-time status is available on FlightAware and Flightradar24.
