In a move with almost no modern precedent, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered every airport in the United States to stop departing flights on Friday, November 13, 2026. The nationwide ground stop began at 3:54PM ET, with an initial window running to 11:30PM ET, and pilots were told all departing traffic should remain parked until further notice. Inbound international flights were being handled individually.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later confirmed the trigger: communication problems affecting every Air Route Traffic Control Center in the country, with FAA technicians investigating. The scale is what makes this extraordinary. Localised ATC outages happen regularly, but a stoppage spanning the entire national airspace has no real comparison in the past 25 years other than the shutdown that followed the September 11 attacks.

The cause is still unknown. Two theories are floating around. One is timing-based: the FAA reportedly started rolling out a new AI-powered air traffic management system called SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories) this same week, though there's no evidence yet linking it to the failure. The other is cyber-related, but Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says there are currently no indications of an attack. If it genuinely turns out to be a plain telecommunications outage, that raises awkward questions about why a nationwide system lacks the redundancies to contain a failure to one region.

Even once departures resume, the ripple effects will be painful. Aircraft that landed during the stop are occupying gates while new arrivals keep coming in, so airports end up with more planes than parking spots. Travellers already onboard when the order hit are stuck sitting at gates or on the apron — one passenger on a flight scheduled to push back at 3:59PM got caught out minutes after boarding. Anyone flying in the US this weekend should assume significant delays and cancellations even after the ground stop is lifted, as airlines work through a massive backlog of crews, aircraft and slots.

For holidaymakers, the practical takeaway is simple: if you're due to fly in, out of or within the United States right now, check your flight status directly with the airline before heading to the airport, expect connections to break, and know that rebooking will be competitive while everyone scrambles for seats. travellers on incoming international flights should be prepared for managed arrivals and long taxi or gate waits. This is a fast-moving story and the timeline for恢复正常 is unclear — the FAA may lift the stop early, or extend it.

We'll update as the cause and the recovery plan become clearer. In the meantime, build in buffer time, keep essentials in your carry-on, and brush up on your airline's delay and cancellation policies before you travel.

Story first reported by One Mile at a Time.