FAA Halts Departing Flights Nationwide After Communications Failure

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide halt to departing flights at U.S. airports Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after a communications failure affecting air traffic control centers prompted safety concerns, according to reports citing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The ground stop was initially scheduled to run from 3:53 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central time while FAA technicians investigated the failure.

“Due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” an FAA command center advisory distributed to aircraft operators said. “Attention all aircraft operators, by order of the federal aviation command center all airports are ground stopped.”

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Duffy attributed the disruption to a nationwide communications failure affecting Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The nationwide order followed localized frequency and communications outages that had halted traffic in the Chicago area, according to the reports.

At St. Louis Lambert International Airport, all departing traffic was held on the ground under the federal directive until further notice. Inbound international flights were being handled on a case-by-case basis. The airport had not issued a separate local statement about the ground stop.

Passengers scheduled to travel through Lambert should check directly with their airlines for current delay and rebooking information before heading to the airport.

This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023 when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Where to Check Updates: Due to intermittent outages on official web portals, travelers can monitor real-time updates via the FAA Facebook page or the FAA X (Twitter) feed.