FAA Nationwide Ground Stop, 13 November 2026: All US Departures Held Until Further Notice

The Federal Aviation Administration has ground stopped every departing flight at every airport in the United States. The order came from the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center on Friday 13 November 2026, took effect at 3:54 pm Eastern, and holds all departures until further notice. Flights already in the air are not ordered to land, and inbound international flights are being managed case by case.

The cause, as the FAA states it, is a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating. Update at 8:02 pm Eastern on Friday: FAA Advisory 120, checked on the FAA Command Center site at that time, says the ground stop remains in effect, and that as en route facilities recover, flights will be allowed to depart through coordination with the Air Traffic Control System Command Center. The advisory lists the reason as a communications failure and gives the next expected update at 11:00 pm Eastern. No full lifting has been announced. This post sets out what is confirmed, and the ride in once you do land.

The FAA advisory, quoted by multiple outlets, 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.” The advisory lists an end of 11:30 pm Eastern, but that listing is not a resumption promise: the order itself runs until further notice.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted the same explanation on X, with FAA technicians investigating. An FAA spokesperson confirmed the ground stop to Gizmodo. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters a telecommunication outage prompted the order and that there is no indication of a cyberattack. Shortly before the nationwide order, the FAA had already halted traffic in Chicago over communications issues.

Los Angeles International confirmed departures halted as of about 1:45 pm Pacific. Reuters, citing FlightAware, reported more than 1,000 flights cancelled and nearly 10,000 delayed as the evening went on. Eurocontrol said US bound departures from its 42 member states were suspended at the FAA request, for departures between 5:00 pm and midnight Eastern on Friday, according to Reuters and Eurocontrol reporting of its advisory. Live coverage describes this as the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when the NOTAM outage paused departures across the country. Our guides for the biggest affected hubs cover the ground picture once flights move again: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.

This emergency order is distinct from the FAA ordered flight reductions covered in our earlier posts on flight cuts at the New York airports and flight cuts at Miami and Fort Lauderdale, published on 11 November. That was a separate program; this is a same day safety order covering every departure in the country. If your flight is cancelled, check the airline app before leaving for the airport, and do not travel for a departure that has not been released.

Ground transport is not part of the stop. Flights already airborne are landing, and every airport ride in the New York guide runs as normal. From JFK, the AirTrain links every terminal to the subway at Jamaica or Howard Beach; from Newark, NJ Transit trains run to Penn Station. The three rides that cover most arrivals:

Every option, priced and compared, sits in our JFK to Manhattan transfer guide. A shared shuttle runs at $35 a person and takes about 60 minutes. After midnight the subway still runs, so the cheapest route is also the all night route.

The Splurge pick is The Plaza, the grande dame at Central Park corner on Fifth Avenue. The Sweet spot pick is Arlo SoHo, on Hudson Street downtown, compact smart rooms and a rooftop bar. The Budget pick is HI New York City Hostel, a historic Gothic building on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side, the best value in Manhattan.

Getting back out is the exposed trip today. The stop remains in effect, but departures are now being released through Command Center coordination as facilities recover, so a released flight can leave while other departures stay held. Leave for the airport only with a confirmed, released departure.

Sort the ticket first: tap a contactless card, phone or watch at the OMNY reader, $2.90 a ride, and after 12 paid rides in a 7 day window the rest are free. Cards work across the city; keep $20 to $40 in small bills for food carts, bodegas and tips.

Get connected on landing. The guide eSIM pick is Airalo, online as the plane taxis in, which is how you watch flight status on a disruption day. Then eat something New York: a pizza slice or a bagel with lox from a corner deli. Book Empire State Building and 9/11 Museum tickets before you fly; the guide is blunt that it is the difference between walking in and queuing for two hours.

The stop remains in effect as of the 8:02 pm Eastern check, the next FAA update is expected at 11:00 pm Eastern, and no full resumption time has been published. Until the FAA says otherwise: check your flight, wait for the airline, and land flexible when you do land. Browse the events calendar for what else is on, and use plan your trip to line up the rest.