America’s Departures Halted: FAA Orders Rare Nationwide Ground Stop
A communications problem has stopped departures across the United States. It is the first nationwide ground stop since 2023—not a worldwide order to land every aircraft—and Canadians with U.S. connections need to check their next flight.
Editorial cover based on S340’s February 14, 2006 photograph at Chicago O’Hare, released into the public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped, darkened and overlaid with typography. Archival image—not a photograph of the November 13, 2026 disruption.
November 13, 2026 · By Justin Plosz · United States · Canada · International travel · Business · 7 min read read
Breaking status: a U.S. departure stop, not a worldwide shutdown
**Reporting snapshot: November 13, 2026, at 4:54 p.m. Eastern / 2:54 p.m. Mountain / 21:54 UTC.** The FAA has ordered a rare nationwide ground stop affecting departures at U.S. airports. At this check, CBS News, CNBC and USA TODAY were reporting the stop, and the FAA’s live status board listed airport delays attributed to the national stop or FAA equipment. No lifting notice was found in the sources checked. This article is a time-stamped report, **not an automatically updating flight-status service**. [FAA status](https://nasstatus.faa.gov/) · [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faa-issues-nationwide-ground-stop) · [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/13/faa-ground-stop.html)
The immediate distinction matters: **aircraft waiting to depart are being held on the ground**. That does not establish that every flight is cancelled, that the entire world’s airspace has closed, or that aircraft already flying must immediately land. USA TODAY reports that flights already in the air were not being ordered to land immediately, while inbound international flights would be handled case by case. [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/11/13/faa-orders-nationwide-groundstop-at-us-airports-citing-safety/92765499007/)
For Canadians, the story is serious without exaggerating its geography. A U.S. departure restriction can disrupt a return flight, a connection through an American hub or an aircraft’s later rotation into Canada. It is not, by itself, an FAA order grounding every Canadian domestic flight.
Check the FAA’s live National Airspace System status
What officials are saying—and what the cause is not yet known to be
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the nationwide stop followed a communications issue affecting Air Route Traffic Control Centers and that FAA technicians were investigating. Early coverage quoted his description as affecting “all” centres; CNBC subsequently quoted the FAA describing communications issues at **“multiple”** centres. Those are attributed descriptions, not a completed technical diagnosis. [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faa-issues-nationwide-ground-stop) · [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/13/faa-ground-stop.html)
CNBC also reported that an internal Alaska Airlines message, which it had seen, referred to communications and radar issues. That is an airline message reported by CNBC; it should not be substituted for a final FAA finding about the root cause. CBS reported that ground stops had first affected Chicago O’Hare and Midway over an equipment outage before the nationwide order.
**The sources reviewed at this check do not establish a cyberattack, terrorism, sabotage or a link to any other technology outage.** “Extraordinary circumstances” and “reasons of safety” describe the precaution in the alert; they do not identify who or what caused the failure. Until investigators provide evidence, an alarming theory remains a theory.
Archival photograph of the FAA air traffic control tower at Philadelphia International Airport, June 8, 2025. Harrison Keely / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0; resized. Not evidence that this tower caused the outage.
CNBC: FAA statement and reported communications issues
The 9/11 comparison: January 2023 is the missing date
Nationwide ground stops are exceptionally unusual, but this is **not the first since September 11, 2001**. Current reporting from CNBC and ABC’s live coverage identifies **January 11, 2023** as the previous nationwide stop. On that basis, the November 13 event is the **second since 9/11**, with the 2023 outage between them. The comparison concerns the scale of the operational pause—not an equivalence between today’s communications problem and a terrorist attack. [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/13/faa-ground-stop.html) · [ABC live coverage](https://abc13.com/live-updates/faa-ground-stop-live-updates-what-know-nationwide-flights-are-grounded/20038887/)
The FAA’s own archived statements document what happened in 2023. At 7:15 a.m. Eastern on January 11, it ordered airlines to pause domestic departures while it validated flight and safety information after a Notice to Air Missions, or **NOTAM**, outage. At 8:50 a.m., the agency said the ground stop had been lifted and normal operations were gradually resuming. [FAA’s 2023 statements](https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-notam-statement)
A January 19 preliminary review said contract personnel had unintentionally deleted files while correcting synchronization between the primary and backup databases. The FAA said it had found no evidence of a cyberattack or malicious intent. **That finding belongs to the 2023 incident. It does not explain today’s outage.** Two events can produce the same protective action without having the same cause.
Read the FAA’s original January 2023 outage and recovery statements
The clock: an advisory’s end time is not a promise of takeoff
USA TODAY’s 4:46 p.m. Eastern update reported an advisory window beginning at **3:54 p.m. Eastern** and extending to **11:30 p.m. Eastern**. In Mountain time, that is 1:54 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on November 13. The same report emphasized that departing traffic was to remain stopped **until further notice**. The listed window should not be read as a guaranteed reopening time. [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/11/13/faa-orders-nationwide-groundstop-at-us-airports-citing-safety/92765499007/)
The FAA’s status board also separates airport-specific ground delays, departure delays, closures and other restrictions. At the 4:50 p.m. check, it showed delays associated with the national stop at airports including Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and equipment-related delays elsewhere. It also listed other airports’ wind- or volume-related programmes. **Not every delay shown on a busy airport board can be attributed solely to this outage.** [FAA](https://nasstatus.faa.gov/)
Even after a national restriction is lifted, passengers should not assume the timetable instantly returns to normal. Aircraft, crews, gates and connecting passengers can be out of position. That is an operational risk to watch—not a forecast of a specific delay for your flight. Wait for your airline’s actual status and boarding instructions.
USA TODAY’s time-stamped live ground-stop updates
What Canadian travellers should do now
**Check the airline operating the flight, not just the company that sold the ticket.** Look up the flight number in the operating airline’s app or website, turn on notifications and confirm the status of every segment. A Toronto–Chicago–Phoenix itinerary can be disrupted at more than one point; a later Canadian departure may also depend on an aircraft arriving from the United States.
**Do not assume a departure stop equals a cancellation.** If your flight is still scheduled, follow your airline’s check-in and airport-arrival guidance. If you have a tight connection, contact the airline about alternatives before independently buying a replacement ticket. Keep screenshots of status changes, written airline messages, receipts and the reason given for a cancellation or delay.
**Do not assume automatic compensation or insurance coverage.** Rebooking, refunds, care obligations and cash compensation are different questions. Eligibility depends on the itinerary, the applicable rules, the cause and the actual circumstances. An FAA safety restriction does not by itself establish that every affected Canadian passenger is owed a cash payment. Ask the airline for a written explanation and check the [Canadian Transportation Agency’s passenger guidance](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/air-passenger-protection-regulations-highlights) or your insurer’s policy wording.
For readers planning another trip rather than dealing with an immediate disruption, our [Travel page](/situation-room/travel-agent) can help with the broader planning process. For a flight departing today, the operating airline and airport remain the relevant operational sources.
American Airlines aircraft parked at Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 3 on February 14, 2006. S340 / Wikimedia Commons, public domain; resized. Archival context, not today’s stranded flights.
Live coverage and official updates: where to follow the next change
The most useful next update is an **FAA lifting notice or revised restriction**, followed by your airline’s flight-specific information. Start with the [FAA’s National Airspace System status board](https://nasstatus.faa.gov/) and its [advisory database](https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/advAdvisoryForm.jsp). A screenshot of an earlier alert is not proof that the same restriction remains active hours later.
**Live-video check:** Between approximately 4:52 and 4:54 p.m. Eastern, PRC checked actual playback on [CBS News 24/7](https://www.cbsnews.com/live/) and the ABC News Live player carried within [ABC’s live-update page](https://abc13.com/live-updates/faa-ground-stop-live-updates-what-know-nationwide-flights-are-grounded/20038887/). Both players were running and carrying ground-stop coverage; ABC’s on-screen banner identified a communications issue. This was a direct check of playing video, not merely a search result labelled “live.” It does not constitute independent verification of every claim broadcast.
For developing text reporting, [CBS’s report](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faa-issues-nationwide-ground-stop) and [USA TODAY’s live updates](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/11/13/faa-orders-nationwide-groundstop-at-us-airports-citing-safety/92765499007/) provide additional checkable sources. Broadcaster programming may move to another story. A “live” channel is not necessarily continuous airport coverage, and an old airport clip is not proof of present conditions.
We have not embedded a random livestream or flight-tracker screenshot as evidence of an empty sky. Flight-tracking coverage, data delays and the number of aircraft visible on a particular screen do not independently establish the scope or cause of an FAA restriction.
Follow ABC’s live reporting and broadcaster video
What remains unconfirmed
At this reporting cutoff, the reviewed sources had not established a final root cause, a guaranteed restoration time, a reliable count of passengers affected specifically by this order, or a verified financial-loss estimate. PRC is not presenting an all-day delay total as though every disrupted flight was caused by the national stop.
The questions to watch are specific: Which communications systems failed? Which centres were affected? What redundancy was available? When did restrictions begin and end? What did the agency verify before releasing departures? Those answers matter more than comparing every unexpected interruption to 9/11.
**Editor’s note:** This report was prepared from the FAA status board, the FAA’s archived 2023 statements and the linked reporting. It is a dated breaking-news snapshot, not a claim of continuous monitoring. Check the linked official and airline sources before making a travel decision. Any later confirmed lifting notice should be read alongside this original status and its reporting time.
Photo credits: real archival images, clearly identified
**O’Hare photograph and cover source:** S340, February 14, 2006, [American Airlines Terminal 3 at O’Hare International Airport](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Airlines_Terminal_3_at_O%27Hare_International_Airport.jpg), released into the public domain by the photographer. The inline photograph is resized; the cover is cropped, darkened and overlaid with PRC typography. **Philadelphia tower:** Harrison Keely, June 8, 2025, [Wikimedia Commons source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_FAA_air_traffic_control_tower_at_Philadelphia_International_Airport.jpg), [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); resized. Neither photograph was taken during the November 13, 2026 ground stop. No endorsement is implied, and no image is offered as proof of the cause of the disruption.
Key takeaways
- The November 13 FAA order concerns departures at U.S. airports, not a worldwide grounding.
- Officials cited communications problems; a final root cause was not established at the reporting cutoff.
- January 11, 2023 was the previous nationwide ground stop identified in current reporting.
- The 9/11 comparison concerns the rarity of the operational pause, not evidence of a similar cause.
- A listed advisory end time is not a guarantee that a flight will depart then.
- Canadians should check each segment with the operating airline and retain written disruption information.
Frequently asked questions
- Has the FAA grounded all flights worldwide?
- No. The reported November 13, 2026 order stops departures at U.S. airports. USA TODAY reports that aircraft already in the air were not ordered to land immediately; inbound international flights were to be handled case by case. Check the time-stamped status in this article and the FAA for later changes.
- Is this the first nationwide ground stop since 9/11?
- No. The FAA also paused domestic departures on January 11, 2023 after a NOTAM system outage. Current reporting identifies November 13, 2026 as the first nationwide stop since that event, making it the second since September 11, 2001.
- What caused the November 13 ground stop?
- Officials cited air traffic control communications problems and an ongoing technical investigation. The sources reviewed at the article’s reporting cutoff do not establish a final root cause, cyberattack, terrorism or sabotage.
- Does the listed advisory end time guarantee flights will resume?
- No. USA TODAY reported a window extending to 11:30 p.m. Eastern but also an instruction to remain stopped until further notice. An advisory window is not a promise of restoration or of an individual flight’s departure.
- Are flights within Canada automatically grounded?
- The U.S. order does not by itself ground every Canadian domestic flight. Canadian travellers can still face disrupted U.S. connections, return flights and aircraft rotations. Check the operating airline for your specific flight.
- Does a ground stop mean my flight is cancelled or compensation is guaranteed?
- Neither follows automatically. A departure may be delayed rather than cancelled. Rebooking, refunds, passenger care, compensation and insurance depend on the itinerary, applicable rules, cause and actual circumstances.
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