Key facts
- The FAA halted departures nationwide for more than four hours after a communications network failure, Reuters reported.
- Air traffic controllers worked with only partial radar and communications capabilities during the halt, according to the report.
- US air travel was not expected to return to normal schedules until late Sunday, the report said.
- Airlines warned displaced aircraft and crews could cause cancellations through the weekend, the report said.
- It was the first nationwide halt since an FAA computer failure in January 2023, according to the report.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted departures across the United States for more than four hours on Friday, November 13, 2026, after a communications network failure, Reuters reported. About 4,000 aircraft were in the skies when the ground stop was announced on Friday afternoon, and all landed safely while controllers worked with only partial radar and communications capabilities, according to the report.
US air travel was not expected to return to normal schedules until late Sunday, and airlines warned that displaced aircraft and crews could cause cancellations through the weekend, Reuters reported. Tens of thousands of travelers were stranded in terminals from Boston to Seattle and New York to Los Angeles, and NBA, NHL and college sports teams were among those rearranging journeys.
Over Texas, a student pilot on his first solo cross-country flight was told by a controller that a nationwide ground stop was in effect and he needed to land. The controller guided him around other aircraft, including two helicopters, back toward Hicks Airfield near Fort Worth, and the aircraft landed safely minutes later, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.
It was the first nationwide halt since an FAA computer failure in January 2023; before that, the last such shutdown followed the September 11, 2001, attacks, the report said. On a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Orlando that left before the stop was declared, members of several bands traveling to the Vans Warped Tour played an impromptu concert in the cabin, according to videos and accounts posted online.