The United States Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon, ordering all outbound flights from the United States to halt ground operations due to a sudden and widespread telecommunications failure. The sweeping directive immediately disrupted air travel across the nation, triggering widespread delays, cancellations, and mid-air diversions just as millions of passengers prepared for the weekend travel rush.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin addressed the unfolding situation during an emergency press conference, seeking to calm public anxiety by stating there was “no indication as of yet” that anything “nefarious” had caused the sudden ground stop. Mullin pointed to preliminary assessments suggesting the disruption was tied to a broad telecommunications outage affecting critical infrastructure.
In an official statement published on the social media platform X, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the nature of the disruption and the immediate safety measures enacted by federal authorities. “There has been a temporary telecommunications outage – out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted,” the FAA stated. The agency added that despite the sweeping pause on departures, “Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.”
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also addressed the crisis in a separate statement, echoing the FAA’s assessment that the unexpected halt was driven by a fundamental "communication issue" affecting aviation networks. Duffy confirmed that specialized "FAA technicians are investigating" the root cause of the failure to ensure systems can be restored safely and securely.
The unprecedented halt on takeoffs and landings applies broadly to both domestic and international flights operating within United States airspace. Major commercial carriers swiftly responded to the federal directive. United Airlines, one of the four largest commercial airlines in the United country, issued a press release clarifying that the federal order did not apply to aircraft that were already in transit.
“United Airlines is responding to a nationwide ground stop issued by the FAA. United flights that are already airborne will continue. New domestic flights will not depart while the FAA ground stop remains in place,” United Airlines stated in its release. The carrier added that it was mobilizing resources to assist affected travelers: “United will work with our customers to get them to their destinations once this issue is resolved.”
Aviation historians and industry experts noted that nationwide ground stops of this magnitude are exceptionally rare. The last time a nationwide ground stop occurred in the United States was in January 2023, when a major computer outage crippled the Federal Aviation Administration’s pilot notification system, known as NOTAM, leading to widespread chaos across the national airspace system.
According to internal information obtained from Alaska Airlines, widespread server outages affecting broader telecommunications infrastructure over the preceding 24 hours were believed to be the primary catalyst behind the Friday afternoon order. The technological failures severely compromised the flow of operational data essential for safe flight dispatches.
Data from Cirium, a prominent aviation analytics company, underscored the massive scale of the disruption. There were 26,284 commercial flights scheduled to depart from airports across the United States on November 13. As of 5:50 p.m., the analytics firm reported that 600 flights had been diverted so far. Of those 600 diverted aircraft, 496—representing approximately 82.7 percent—chose to return to their origin airport, while the remaining 104 flights diverted to alternative regional airports to wait out the ground stop.
“At this time 481 have been canceled or no fly nationally, representing 1.83%. This will grow today,” a Cirium company spokesperson stated as the evening progressed and operational backlogs began to compound. The analytics firm noted that even after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, there remained some 11,000 scheduled flights still slated to depart from United States airports before the conclusion of the day.
As federal agencies continue their investigation into the telecommunications breakdown, airports nationwide are experiencing swelling crowds of stranded passengers. Airlines are urging travelers to check their flight status directly through official mobile applications and websites before heading to departure terminals. Hannah Towey contributed reporting to this developing story, which continues to be updated as federal transportation officials release new information regarding system restoration and the gradual resumption of normal flight operations.
