FAA Halts Flights Nationwide Over Air Traffic Communications Outage

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a rare nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon, halting departing flights at U.S. airports after a communications problem hit the regional air traffic control centers that guide planes between airports, according to BBC News and a statement from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the White House that there was “no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack,” describing the problem as “a telecommunications outage throughout FAA,” according to video posted by the White House’s Rapid Response account. “Everybody is safe,” Mullin said, according to BBC News. “All the flights are accounted for.”

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

What the FAA ordered

The FAA said all flights were grounded “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” according to BBC News. The FAA Command Center advisory told operators that “all departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice” and that inbound international flights “will be managed on a case by case basis,” according to The Boston Report, which reviewed the advisory.

The order was signed at 3:54 p.m. Eastern time, The Boston Report said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the FAA “issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” Duffy said FAA technicians were investigating and that the department would “provide immediate updates as we have them.”

An FAA statement quoted by The Boston Report said the communication issues were “impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” Those centers handle high-altitude traffic between airports, the outlet noted.

‘This isn’t another 9/11’

Mullin sought to calm travelers. “There should be no fear to the public at all,” he said, according to BBC News. “This isn’t another 9/11. This is a telecommunication outage, this is much different.”

Mullin also said there was no reason to connect the FAA problem to a separate, ongoing Microsoft outage, BBC News reported. Asked how long the disruption would last, he said, “We have not discussed any time frame,” adding, “It’s going to take some time,” according to BBC News.

Once planes already in the air are on the ground, Mullin said it would be “some time” before operations resume, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Airports react

Major airports confirmed the halt and told travelers to check with their airlines. Los Angeles International Airport said in a statement that the FAA “has issued a nationwide ground stop affecting flights departing from LAX” and asked passengers to “anticipate delays and contact your airline for flight status,” NBC Los Angeles reported. Airports in Atlanta, Miami, Houston and the Washington, D.C., area also issued statements confirming the ground stop, according to BBC News.

A rare step

Nationwide ground stops are unusual. In January 2023, the FAA grounded all flights, citing a failure in the Notice to Air Missions system, which alerts pilots to potential hazards, NBC Los Angeles reported.

As of late Friday afternoon, officials had not announced when normal operations would resume. The Boston Report said that by about 4:45 p.m. Eastern the FAA’s national airspace status page no longer listed the nationwide stop, but that it could find no official statement giving a lift time. Travelers should confirm flight status directly with their airlines.

Reporting by Daily Beltway.