FAA Ground Stop Today: All U.S. Airports Held at 3:54 p.m. ET

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground-stopped all U.S. airports at 3:54 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. Its National Ground Stop advisory, number 111, tells every aircraft operator that departing traffic should stay on the ground until further notice. NBC News and ABC News reported the order within minutes.

The advisory is four sentences long. The times on it are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which pilots call Zulu, so the tables further down convert them for each U.S. time zone and for all 50 states.

FAA ground stop live updates for Nov. 13

Newest first. Times are ET and each entry says where it comes from.

• 8:19 p.m. The national ground stop was still in effect, with no official restart time and no advisory cancelling it. The FAA status page showed the departure delay at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) back up to an average of 300 minutes and rising, its reason field giving an FAA equipment problem, as of about 8:07 p.m.; Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) stayed closed to diverted aircraft, and the routine ground delays for wind or volume at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco were unchanged. NBC News still described the stop as in effect and running through at least 11 p.m. ET.
• 8:09 p.m. The national ground stop was still in effect, with no official restart time. Even with the stop in place, the FAA had been clearing some overwater departures case by case: San Francisco International Airport (SFO) said Pacific-bound flights, including toward Hawaii and Asia, had been allowed to leave, NBC News and the San Francisco Standard reported. The FAA status page still showed the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) departure delay averaging 180 minutes, its reason field tying it to the national stop, and the advisory database still returned no advisories for the day, which is not a cancellation.
• 7:54 p.m. The national order had still not been cancelled; a White House official said President Donald Trump was being kept updated and that the stop would run through at least 11 p.m. ET, NBC News reported. The FAA status page showed a departure delay at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) averaging 180 minutes and still rising, with the reason given as the national ground stop, and listed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) as closed to diverted aircraft; routine ground delays for wind or volume remained at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco. The tracking site FlightAware counted 10,079 U.S. flight delays and 4,238 cancellations as of 7:30 p.m., NBC News reported, well above the roughly 1,024 cancellations the day before.
• 7:26 p.m. The national order had still not been cancelled. The FAA’s last advisory on it, number 120 at 5:46 p.m. ET, says “the FAA Command Center ground stop remains in effect” while flights depart as en route facilities recover; it lists the reason as a communications failure and says the FAA expected to update the status at 11 p.m. ET (0400 UTC). No later advisory lifted the order, and the FAA status page showed no nationwide program, only routine ground delays for wind or volume at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco.
• 7:12 p.m. The last equipment-tied delay cleared from the FAA status page. Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), which an hour earlier had a departure delay of about 165 minutes tied to a ground stop and equipment, no longer appeared, and the page listed no nationwide program. Only routine ground delays for wind or volume remained, at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco. No FAA advisory or statement had lifted the national order; an NBC News post at 7:01 p.m. said the FAA had given no timeline for restarting flights.
• 7:01 p.m. Recovery was under way, but the national order was not formally lifted. In a statement shortly after 6 p.m. carried by ABC News, the FAA said the ground stop remained in effect and that “as enroute facilities recover, flights will be allowed to depart” through coordination with its command center. On the FAA status page the Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) departure delay had eased to 165 minutes and was falling, no nationwide program was listed, and the ground delays at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco were unchanged. Delta and United had posted travel waivers for Friday and Saturday, ABC News reported.
• 6:43 p.m. The national order had still not been lifted. No FAA advisory or statement cancelled it, and the advisory database still returned no advisories for the day. On the FAA status page a departure delay appeared at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), averaging 165 minutes and rising, which the page’s reason field ties to a ground stop and equipment; the ground delays at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco were unchanged. CBS News, updated at 6:36 p.m., and NBC News still described the stop as in effect.
• 6:30 p.m. The FAA status page no longer lists the Chicago O’Hare departure delay or any nationwide program. It shows only routine ground delays for wind or volume at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco. No FAA advisory or statement had lifted the national order, and the advisory database still returned no advisories for the day.
• 6:22 p.m. CBS News reported that the flight-tracking site FlightAware counted more than 10,000 delays and more than 2,000 cancellations among U.S. flights by Friday evening, up from about 8,000 delays earlier in the afternoon.
• 6:10 p.m. The FAA status page shows a departure delay at Chicago O’Hare averaging 180 minutes and rising, due to an FAA equipment problem. The ground delay programs at Boston, LaGuardia, San Diego and San Francisco are unchanged from 5 p.m. No FAA advisory or statement had lifted the national order, and the FAA’s newsroom page still carried no notice on the event.
• 5:52 p.m. The FAA said on X that “there has been a temporary telecommunications outage” and that “out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted.” It said every flight had been accounted for and international flights would be handled case by case. NBC News carried the agency’s statement. No official had said the order was lifted.
• By 5:25 p.m. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters outside the White House there was “no indication, as of yet, that this was a nefarious act” and called it “a telecommunication outage throughout FAA,” adding that President Donald Trump had been briefed, that all flights were accounted for and that “everybody is safe.” CBS News and NBC News carried the briefing. No official had said the order was lifted.
• By 5:15 p.m. At least 8,000 U.S. flights were delayed and 400 canceled Friday afternoon, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported, according to CBS News. FlightRadar24 counted about 3,100 aircraft already airborne toward U.S. airports when the stop began.
• 5:01 p.m. The FAA status page no longer lists ground stops at Chicago O’Hare or Chicago Midway. It shows ground delay programs at Boston (26 minutes on average, volume), LaGuardia (45 minutes, wind), San Diego (34 minutes, volume) and San Francisco (138 minutes, wind). The FAA has posted no cancellation of the national order and no statement on its newsroom page.
• By 4:35 p.m. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says on X that the ground stop followed “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers” and that “FAA technicians are investigating the issue,” CBS News and ABC News report.
• 4:40 p.m. The status page reads “No active airport events” and the advisory database returns no advisories for Nov. 13.
• 4:21 p.m. Advisory 117 goes to all centers: “Extended Flight Plan Drop Times Implemented.”
• 4:20 p.m. Advisory 116 is sent with the title “Nation Wide Airborne Holding.”
• 3:54 p.m. Advisory 111, the National Ground Stop, is sent.
• 3:17 p.m. Ground stop at Chicago Midway for an equipment outage.
• 3:10 p.m. Ground stop at Chicago O’Hare for an equipment outage, with the comment “comms issues.”

What the FAA ground stop advisory says

The FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) in Virginia sends these advisories to airlines and pilots. Advisory 111 reads:

“Due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. Attention all aircraft operators, by order of the Federal Aviation Command Center all airports are ground stopped. All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis.”

Three things follow from that wording. The order covers departures, and it names all airports. It has no fixed end. Flights from abroad that were already on their way are handled one at a time.

FAA ground stop times in ET, CT, MT and PT

The advisory lists an event time of “13/2053 - 14/0400” and a send time of 20:54 on Nov. 13, all in UTC. Converted:

On the advisory	UTC	Eastern	Central	Mountain	Pacific
Event time starts	20:53, Nov. 13	3:53 p.m.	2:53 p.m.	1:53 p.m.	12:53 p.m.
Advisory sent	20:54, Nov. 13	3:54 p.m.	2:54 p.m.	1:54 p.m.	12:54 p.m.
Event time ends	04:00, Nov. 14	11 p.m.	10 p.m.	9 p.m.	8 p.m.
Advisory expires	04:30, Nov. 14	11:30 p.m.	10:30 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	8:30 p.m.

Every local time in the table falls on Friday, Nov. 13. The 11 p.m. ET end is the window printed on the notice. It is not a promise that flights resume then: the text says “until further notice,” and the FAA can cancel the stop earlier or extend it with a new advisory.

FAA ground stop by state: local time the order took effect

The order names all airports, so it applies in every state and the District of Columbia. The table gives one major airport per state, the local time there when advisory 111 was sent, and the local time the window printed on the notice ends. All of it is Friday, Nov. 13.

State	Major airport	Order sent, local time	Window on the notice ends
Alabama	Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International (BHM)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Alaska	Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC)	11:54 a.m. AKST	7 p.m.
Arizona	Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)	1:54 p.m. MST	9 p.m.
Arkansas	Clinton National, Little Rock (LIT)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
California	Los Angeles International (LAX)	12:54 p.m. PST	8 p.m.
Colorado	Denver International (DEN)	1:54 p.m. MST	9 p.m.
Connecticut	Bradley International (BDL)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Delaware	Wilmington Airport (ILG)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
District of Columbia	Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Florida	Orlando International (MCO)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Georgia	Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Hawaii	Daniel K. Inouye International, Honolulu (HNL)	10:54 a.m. Hawaii time	6 p.m.
Idaho	Boise Airport (BOI)	1:54 p.m. MST	9 p.m.
Illinois	Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Indiana	Indianapolis International (IND)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Iowa	Des Moines International (DSM)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Kansas	Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National (ICT)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Kentucky	Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Louisiana	Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Maine	Portland International Jetport (PWM)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Maryland	Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Massachusetts	Boston Logan International (BOS)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Michigan	Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Minnesota	Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Mississippi	Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International (JAN)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Missouri	St. Louis Lambert International (STL)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Montana	Bozeman Yellowstone International (BZN)	1:54 p.m. MST	9 p.m.
Nebraska	Eppley Airfield, Omaha (OMA)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Nevada	Harry Reid International, Las Vegas (LAS)	12:54 p.m. PST	8 p.m.
New Hampshire	Manchester-Boston Regional (MHT)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
New Jersey	Newark Liberty International (EWR)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
New Mexico	Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ)	1:54 p.m. MST	9 p.m.
New York	John F. Kennedy International (JFK)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
North Carolina	Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
North Dakota	Hector International, Fargo (FAR)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Ohio	Cleveland Hopkins International (CLE)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Oklahoma	Will Rogers International, Oklahoma City (OKC)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Oregon	Portland International (PDX)	12:54 p.m. PST	8 p.m.
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia International (PHL)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Rhode Island	Rhode Island T.F. Green International (PVD)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
South Carolina	Charleston International (CHS)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
South Dakota	Sioux Falls Regional (FSD)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Tennessee	Nashville International (BNA)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Texas	Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Utah	Salt Lake City International (SLC)	1:54 p.m. MST	9 p.m.
Vermont	Patrick Leahy Burlington International (BTV)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Virginia	Washington Dulles International (IAD)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Washington	Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA)	12:54 p.m. PST	8 p.m.
West Virginia	West Virginia International Yeager, Charleston (CRW)	3:54 p.m. EST	11 p.m.
Wisconsin	Milwaukee Mitchell International (MKE)	2:54 p.m. CST	10 p.m.
Wyoming	Jackson Hole Airport (JAC)	1:54 p.m. MST	9 p.m.

States that span two time zones, such as Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas and Idaho, are shown at the time of the airport listed. Airports not named here are covered by the same order.

Chicago O’Hare and Midway were stopped first

The national order came 44 minutes after a ground stop at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). FAA advisory 107 lists that stop from 3:10 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, gives the impacting condition as “equipment / outage” and adds the comment “comms issues.” It rated the chance of an extension as medium.

The FAA’s status page showed a ground stop at Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) from 3:17 p.m. ET, also “due to equipment outage.”

Time (ET), Nov. 13	What the FAA posted
3:10 p.m.	Ground stop begins for flights to Chicago O’Hare, equipment outage
3:17 p.m.	Ground stop begins for Chicago Midway, equipment outage
3:30 p.m.	Advisory 108 sent: “All Airports Diversion Recovery Activated”
3:54 p.m.	Advisory 111 sent: National Ground Stop
4:20 p.m.	Advisory 116 sent: “Nation Wide Airborne Holding”
4:21 p.m.	Advisory 117 sent: all centers, “Extended Flight Plan Drop Times Implemented”

Advisory 111 gives only “extraordinary circumstances” and safety. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy gave more in a post on X, quoted by CBS News and ABC News: “The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” He added that “FAA technicians are investigating the issue.” Those centers handle aircraft at cruising altitude between airports.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, speaking to reporters outside the White House, said on Nov. 13 there was “no indication, as of yet, that this was a nefarious act against us” and that it was “just a telecommunication outage.” He said President Donald Trump had been briefed, that officials were “not ruling out anything” on the cause, and that all flights were accounted for and safe, according to CBS News and NBC News.

The FAA itself said on X that there had been “a temporary telecommunications outage” and that all flights had been halted “out of an abundance of caution,” with every flight accounted for, NBC News reported. A later FAA advisory, number 120 at 5:46 p.m. ET, kept the ground stop in place and gave its reason as a communications failure. Neither the FAA nor the Transportation Department has said what caused the communication issue. ABC News and CBS News describe this as the second nationwide ground stop since Sept. 11, 2001; the other came on Jan. 11, 2023, after an outage of the FAA’s pilot notice system.

Where to see the FAA ground stop map

The official map is the FAA’s National Airspace System Status page, nasstatus.faa.gov. It has three views: list, tile and map. Each airport with a ground stop, ground delay program, departure delay or closure appears with its times and the reason the FAA gives.

Three cautions. The page shows times in the time zone of your device. And during the first half hour of the national order it still listed airports one by one, with O’Hare and Midway as ground stops and airports such as Newark, Las Vegas, Houston and Phoenix as departure delays, so an airport missing from the list was not proof that flights were leaving.

A third: at about 4:40 p.m. ET the status page read “No active airport events” and the advisory database returned no advisories for Nov. 13, including the ones it had listed 20 minutes earlier. An empty page is not a cancellation. Only an FAA advisory or statement lifting the stop is.

To read the advisories themselves:

1. Open the FAA’s Advisories Database.
2. Keep the date on Nov. 13, 2026 and select “Show Selected Advisories.”
3. Read down from the top, where the newest notice sits. A cancellation of the national ground stop would appear there with its own number and send time.

When flights will resume after the ground stop

The FAA had not announced a full restart time as of 8:19 p.m. ET on Nov. 13, and no official had said the national order was lifted. The FAA’s own advisory keeping the stop in place, number 120 at 5:46 p.m. ET, said the ground stop remained in effect and that “as enroute facilities recover, flights will be allowed to depart” through coordination with its command center, a gradual resumption rather than a single all-clear. That advisory said the FAA expected to update the status at 11 p.m. ET (0400 UTC), and NBC News reported that a White House official expected the stop to run through at least 11 p.m. An NBC News post at 7:01 p.m. said the FAA had given no timeline for restarting flights. The FAA status page still reflected the disruption into the evening: at about 8:07 p.m. it showed the departure delay at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) back up to an average of 300 minutes and rising, its reason field giving an FAA equipment problem, with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) still closed to diverted aircraft. The advisory database still returned no advisories for the day, which is not a cancellation. Even with the stop in place, the FAA was releasing some overwater departures case by case, such as Pacific-bound flights from San Francisco toward Hawaii and Asia, NBC News and the San Francisco Standard reported.

A restart is gradual. After a ground stop ends, aircraft and crews are out of position, and airports release held flights in order. Friday evening departures and Saturday morning flights on Nov. 14 can run late even after the order is lifted. The FAA has not published delay or cancellation counts for this event, and none are given here.

What travelers should do during the ground stop

• Check the flight number in the airline’s app or website before leaving for the airport. The airline, not the FAA, cancels and rebooks flights.
• Turn on the airline’s text or app alerts for the flight.
• Check a connecting flight separately; it may be held at a different airport.
• Ask the airline about a travel waiver before paying a change fee. Delta and United had posted waivers letting passengers rebook Friday and Saturday flights without a change fee, ABC News reported; check the airline’s own site for its current waiver and the exact travel dates it covers.
• Keep receipts for meals and hotels if the airline’s customer service plan covers delays within its control.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26, 13 days after this ground stop. Our guide to the best days to fly and drive for Thanksgiving 2026 has the travel period day by day, and the November 2026 printable calendar has room to note a rebooked flight. Travelers without a REAL ID who get rebooked onto a later date should check whether a $45 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) ConfirmID receipt still covers the new travel day.