All flights at US airports grounded ‘due to extraordinary circumstances’

| Live News reporter Published November 13, 2026 9:28pm Updated November 13, 2026 9:28pm All US flights have been grounded (Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images) All flights in the United States have been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration. It cited ‘extraordinary circumstances and reasons of safety’ as the basis for doing so. The uncommon alert did not contain any further information but stated that ‘all departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice’. ‘Inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis,’ the notice added. It was later reported that a communications problem has impacted Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added in a social media post: ‘FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.’ Nationwide ground stops are extremely rare. There has not been a nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Prior to that, the last ground stop was issued after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.