FAA Orders Nationwide Ground Stop As Communication Outage Hits US Air Traffic Centres

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday after a communication failure affected air traffic control centres across the country, disrupting flight operations and raising aviation safety concerns.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the disruption in a post on X, stating that the FAA had halted departures from airports nationwide while technicians investigated the problem.

“The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them,” Duffy wrote.

The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026

The FAA advisory instructed airlines and aircraft operators to keep departing flights on the ground until further notice.

Incoming international flights were to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had found no indication of a deliberate attack behind the disruption. He described the incident as a telecommunications outage and said there was no evidence of malicious activity.

The nationwide restriction recalled the January 2023 disruption, when a malfunction in the FAA’s computer system affected flights across the country.

The agency had previously ordered a nationwide ground stop following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Major airlines issued updates to passengers as the disruption continued. United Airlines suspended domestic departures, while American Airlines warned that delays and cancellations could affect operations throughout the day. Both airlines said aircraft already in the air would continue operating.

According to the FAA notification, the ground stop was scheduled to remain in effect until at least 11 PM Eastern Time on Friday.

Technicians continued investigating the communication failure as airlines awaited clearance to resume normal departures.

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