FAA Issues Nationwide Ground Stop ‘Due to Extraordinary Circumstances’

The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all departing flights on Friday “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” The extraordinary circumstances weren’t explained, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that a “communication issue” is “impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” The ground stop was issued at 3:54 p.m. ET, according to the Air Traffic Control System Command Center. The website where the FAA posts alerts appears to be working only intermittently. © FAA A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Gizmodo it is referring all questions to the FAA and that they did not know if planes were currently taking off at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The FAA didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions Friday afternoon. The @FAAnews 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. — Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026 This is a breaking news story and will be updated.