Rare departure halt disrupts U.S. travel as officials investigate telecommunications failure.
November 13, 2026 — Developing story
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop Friday after communications problems affected the nation’s air traffic control system, holding departing aircraft at airports while technicians investigated.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the disruption involved Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which guide aircraft between airports. The FAA’s initial order instructed departing traffic to remain on the ground until further notice and said inbound international flights would be handled individually.
Sources: NPR/WUSF and KABC.
What the grounding means
The order halted departures; aircraft already airborne could still land. Reuters reported that the nationwide action followed an earlier traffic halt in Chicago connected to air traffic control communications problems.
A nationwide departure stop is exceptionally rare. The previous one occurred in January 2023, when an FAA system outage interrupted domestic departures.
Source: Reuters.
Cause remains under investigation
Federal officials described the problem as a telecommunications outage. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication at that point of a malicious act and said airborne flights were accounted for.
CBS News reported, citing multiple sources, that an update to an air traffic control communications network preceded the outage. That account remained subject to investigation; a final technical explanation had not been established in the reporting reviewed for this article.
Source: CBS News.
Delays spread across the country
ABC News reported more than 2,000 cancellations and 10,000 delays as of 6:20 p.m. Eastern time, citing FlightAware. Those totals describe nationwide flight disruptions that day and should not be interpreted as a count caused exclusively by the communications outage.
Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell said her team was in contact with the FAA and that the Senate Commerce Committee would review communications technology issues.
Source: ABC News.
For Pacific Northwest travelers using Seattle-Tacoma or Portland, flight-specific information is essential. A disruption anywhere along an aircraft’s route can affect a later departure, and a connection may change even when the first flight remains scheduled.
What travelers should do
Check the airline’s app or website before leaving for the airport and keep checking connection details. Enable flight notifications and use the airline’s rebooking options if a cancellation or missed connection occurs.
The FAA advises passengers to contact their air carrier for flight-specific delay information. Its national status page provides broader information about airport restrictions.
FAA flight status:
FAA daily air traffic report:
Editor’s note: This article describes the nationwide ground stop announced November 13. Restrictions and individual flight permissions may change. The sources reviewed did not establish a confirmed nationwide all-clear; travelers should use current FAA and airline notices for operational decisions.
