The nationwide US aviation ground stop imposed on Friday 13 November has been lifted after air traffic control systems suffered communications and radar instability. Officials say overloaded, ageing network equipment appears to have caused the disruption, but the full technical investigation remains open.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed at a White House briefing on Friday evening that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reopened the airspace at 8.15pm Eastern Time (1.15am Saturday GMT). The ground stop had prevented departing flights from taking off while controllers handled aircraft already airborne.
The announcement follows Fish 4 News’ original report on the nationwide FAA ground stop, which covered the initial shutdown and the questions surrounding its cause. Although departures have resumed, cancellations and delays are expected to persist as airlines recover.
Why did the FAA ground flights across the United States?
Duffy said instability began at approximately 3.36pm Eastern Time, affecting radar information and communications at regional air traffic control centres and terminal radar approach control facilities, known as TRACONs.
He said parts of an older telecommunications network, including switches and routers, became overwhelmed with data and began returning inconsistent information. Controllers and pilots followed safety procedures while flights already in the air were brought down safely.
Duffy said the immediate technical changes reduced the burden on the network, allowing operations to restart. But officials have not yet released a completed investigation establishing why the network became overloaded or whether changes to the system contributed to the fault.
How many flights were cancelled, delayed or diverted?
The disruption was nationwide and affected airline schedules far beyond the time of the ground stop. Associated Press reported that thousands of flights were disrupted and at least 827 flights were diverted. More than 3,000 aircraft landed safely during the response, according to officials cited by AP.
Update, Saturday 14 November, 11.52am GMT: ABC News reported that FlightAware had recorded 12,506 cancellations across Friday and Saturday involving flights within, into or out of the United States. That included 9,132 cancellations on Friday and 3,374 on Saturday morning. At the same point, FlightAware had logged 1,008 delays on Saturday. The figures are a dated snapshot and may rise as the day continues. See ABC News’ latest reported figures.
The scale of disruption does not mean every reported delay or cancellation was caused solely by the communications failure. Daily flight-tracking totals can include other factors, and airline recovery may extend through the weekend as aircraft, pilots and cabin crews are repositioned.
Has the FAA fixed the problem?
The FAA was able to lift the nationwide restriction after technicians stabilised the affected systems. The agency’s formal cancellation advisory, issued on 14 November in UTC, confirms that the nationwide ground stop was cancelled. That is evidence of an operational recovery, not proof of a permanent fix.
Duffy warned that he could not guarantee the ageing system would not experience another problem. He called for further investment in a modern air traffic control network, while the investigation continues into the failure and the role of old and newly installed equipment.
Was this a cyberattack or linked to Microsoft’s outage?
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had no evidence of a cyberattack at the time of the Friday briefing. There was also no verified link between the FAA incident and the separate disruption to Microsoft services. The two incidents occurred close together, but timing alone does not demonstrate a common cause.
Nor has the FAA established that its recently expanded AI-supported SMART airspace management system caused the shutdown. AP reported that the AI forecasting system was not involved. Officials are instead focusing publicly on the communications network, while the technical inquiry remains open.
What about the technology contractor?
CBS News reported, citing unnamed sources, that an update to a private communications network preceded a reboot and outage. The broadcaster identified L3Harris as the network operator. That account has not yet been independently established as the final explanation by the FAA, and the precise sequence of failures remains a matter for investigation.
What should passengers do now?
- Check the latest flight status directly with the airline before leaving for the airport.
- Monitor airline messages about rebooking, connections and baggage, particularly for journeys involving US airports.
- Use the FAA air traffic status service for operational advisories, remembering that a lifted ground stop does not automatically restore airline timetables.
What investigators still need to establish
- Which exact network components failed and why they became overloaded.
- Whether a recent upgrade or configuration change triggered the wider instability.
- How redundancy and backup systems performed during the nationwide event.
- What permanent changes are required to prevent a repeat disruption.
For the full sequence of developments, see our initial coverage of the FAA ground stop or follow this story on Fish 4 News.
Sources
- US Department of Transportation: official ground stop briefing, 13 November 2026
- White House briefing transcript, Sean Duffy and Markwayne Mullin, 13 November 2026
- Associated Press: ground stop lifted, network failures and continuing disruption
- CBS News: FAA lifting of the ground stop, official comments and contractor reporting
- ABC News: FAA ground stop live updates and Friday briefing
- FAA: current air traffic status
