Overview
- The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop after reporting communications problems at Air Route Traffic Control Centers, with the order taking effect Friday, Nov. 13, 2026 to keep departing aircraft on the ground while allowing planes already airborne to land.
- Flight‑tracking services reported roughly 7,000 flights delayed or canceled as the restriction spread from early problems in Chicago to en route centers nationwide, creating immediate disruptions to schedules, crew duty windows and passenger connections.
- Mexico’s civil aviation authority, AFAC, instructed flights bound for the United States to remain grounded until U.S. authorities clear departures, showing how the U.S. disruption forced cross‑border operational holdbacks.
- FAA technicians are investigating the outage and U.S. Homeland Security officials said there are no current indications of a malicious attack, though authorities continue to examine technical and security possibilities.
- The incident has renewed focus on the FAA’s aging communications infrastructure and funding needs after Congress approved $12.5 billion in 2025 and the FAA and White House requested an additional $30.1 billion on Nov. 13 to accelerate modernization and resilience upgrades.