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Nationwide FAA Flight Ground Stop Linked to Telecommunications Outage, With No Signs of a Nefarious Attack, Officials Say
FAA technicians are investigating the outage after the agency halted all U.S. departures, disrupting thousands of flights and delaying landings case by case.
On Friday, November 13, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for all departing U.S. flights, citing 'extraordinary circumstances' after communications failures impacted 22 regional Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the outage affected these centers, marking only the third nationwide stop since the September 11, 2001, attacks and the first since a 2023 software malfunction.
FlightAware reported nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed all airborne aircraft were accounted for, stating 'no indication of terrorism or nefarious acts'.
Inbound international flights were managed on a case-by-case basis, while airlines faced significant logistical challenges repositioning crews and aircraft across the country.
Replacing aging copper wires with fiber optics is central to modernization efforts, following Congress's $12.5 billion allocation last year and the White House and Department of Transportation's Friday request for an additional $30.1 billion.
The US Federal Aviation Administration today ordered a rare grounding of all domestic flight departures due to a widespread communications outage. The Department of Homeland Security said the outage did not appear to be the result of a “malicious attack.” The shutdown caused immediate chaos among passengers. Departure boards at many airports showed flights as scheduled, even though passengers were unable to board. “The Federal Aviation Administr…