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The suspension of flights across the United States has caused widespread disruption to air travel, affecting passengers, airlines and airport operations nationwide.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide suspension of all departing flights on Friday, November 13, 2026, citing serious safety concerns following a major communications failure affecting air traffic control systems.
The disruption came after technical problems affected communications at regional air traffic control centres responsible for managing aircraft movements across the country.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that FAA technicians were investigating the problem and working to restore normal communications.
Flights Grounded Nationwide
Under the FAA directive, all aircraft on the ground were instructed to remain there until further notice. However, planes already in the air were allowed to continue to their destinations and land safely.
International flights were to be handled on a case-by-case basis, depending on operational and safety conditions.
The suspension affected major airports across the country, including those in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and other major aviation hubs.
Airlines Warn of Delays and Cancellations
Several airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines, warned passengers about possible delays, cancellations and changes to flight schedules.
Airlines advised travellers to check their flight status before heading to airports and monitor official websites and mobile applications for updates.
The disruption also affected cargo operations, raising concerns about delays in the transportation of goods and packages.
Cause of Disruption Under Investigation
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said authorities were investigating the communications failure.
He described the incident as a telecommunications outage and said there was no indication at that stage that it had been caused by a cyberattack.
Officials also said there was no established connection between the incident and a separate Microsoft service disruption.
The nationwide suspension was the second such major shutdown of US flight departures since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The previous nationwide ground stop occurred in January 2023 following a technical failure in the FAA’s pilot safety notification system.
Authorities continued working to restore the affected systems and resume normal flight operations.
