FAA halts all departing US flights in a rare nationwide ground stop

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon, citing "extraordinary circumstances" and safety.

Departing flights are to stay on the ground until further notice, the FAA said in an advisory. Flights arriving from abroad will be handled case by case.

The FAA did not give a cause at first. CNN reports that an FAA spokesperson pointed to a communications problem at the Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which guide planes on the long stretches between airports.

The trouble showed up in Chicago first. The FAA's airspace status page listed ground stops at O'Hare and Midway from just after 3 p.m. ET "due to equipment outage," and the agency's command center flagged "comms issues" in its alert.

At 4:16 p.m. ET, the status page did not yet list the nationwide stop. It showed departure delays of 30 to 60 minutes tied to FAA equipment at Newark, O'Hare and other airports.

Nationwide ground stops are rare. The last one came in January 2023, when the system that sends safety notices to pilots failed. Before that, the FAA cleared US skies after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Airline stocks slipped in after-hours trading. United Airlines (UAL) was down 1.4% and Delta Air Lines (DAL) 0.8% from their closing prices, as of 4:16 p.m. ET. American Airlines (AAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) fell less than 1%.

The FAA has not said when flights will resume.

Sources & Further Reading

1. "FAA issues nationwide ground stop." CNBC. November 13, 2026.
2. "FAA issues nationwide ground stop for all flights due to 'extraordinary circumstances' and safety." CNN. November 13, 2026.
3. "National Airspace System Status." Federal Aviation Administration. November 13, 2026.
4. "Ground stops at Chicago O'Hare and Midway airports due to "equipment outage"." CBS News. November 13, 2026.
5. "Ground stop ordered for all airports nationwide for 'reasons of safety'." NBC News. November 13, 2026.