FAA grounds flights nationwide, citing communications outage

Washington | Nov. 13, 2026, 5:57 p.m. ET | 2 min read The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounded all departing flights nationwide on Friday after a communications failure hit air traffic control centers, in only the second such shutdown since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.Nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. Planes already in the air were allowed to land, but those on the ground could not take off.The disruption is the latest and most dramatic sign of strain on a U.S. air traffic control system beset by equipment and communications failures, controller shortages and aging infrastructure. “The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X.Airline officials said the FAA had not indicated when the ground stop might be lifted, but there were preliminary indications the communications issues were improving in some places.The world’s busiest airspace has experienced setbacks in recent years that have disrupted flights and risked safety. In January 2025, a midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people. The White House and Department of Transportation urged Congress on Friday to approve a further $30.1 billion to upgrade the United States’ aging airports and air traffic control system.Aviation security concernsThe FAA announced the nationwide ground stop at 3:54 p.m ET (2054 GMT). Shortly before the announcement, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago due to air traffic control communications issues. “If the ground stop continues through the evening, it likely will take the weekend to resolve the disruptions to airlines’ networks,” said Robert Mann, an aviation analyst and principal of R.W. Mann & Co.The only other nationwide ground stop since the Sept. 11 attacks came in January 2023, when the FAA halted domestic departures for less than two hours.The outage comes amid heightened concern about aviation security worldwide after a wave of hoax bomb threats this month disrupted dozens of passenger flights across Europe, forcing unscheduled landings and prompting fighter jets to escort or intercept aircraft.There was no immediate indication the U.S. communications failure was related to those incidents or caused by a cyberattack. Deepen your worldviewwith Monitor Highlights.Politics with respectGet political stories with respectful analysis.There‘s a world of new ideas in everyBooks newsletter.There‘s more to life, enrich yours withCulture & Learning weekly.Follow humanity‘s discoveries withScience & Nature stories in your inbox.Gain a spiritual perspectivefrom the stories in your inbox.Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor‘s insight.Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads. The U.S. National Weather Service also said on Friday it was experiencing nationwide internet and communications issues. There was no immediate indication the two incidents were connected.This article is by Reuters. Reporting by David Shepardson and Jasper Ward in Washington; Additional reporting by Dan Catchpole and Rajesh Kumar Singh; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Franklin Paul and Rod Nickel. ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LoginReal news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.