All flights in US under ‘Ground Stop’ orders for first time since 9/11 UPDATED

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered a nationwide ground stop on all US departures after a communications failure hit Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

The order, issued “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” means no flights may depart for any American airport until further notice. Aircraft already airborne are being allowed to continue to their destinations, while inbound international flights are being managed on a case-by-case basis. In short, no planes are in the air over the US.

BREAKING Immediate nationwide ground stop until further notice due to FAA equipment outage https://t.co/3u3X8Y3Gv9

— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) November 13, 2026

No complete reason as yet for extraordinary alert

According to the official FAA advisory, the ground stop covers all airports. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the measure followed a communication issue affecting every Air Route Traffic Control Center. Technicians are investigating, but there is still no clear timeline for when normal operations will resume.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the stop followed a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers; FAA technicians are investigating.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin described it as a telecommunications outage. Preliminary reports and officials say there is no indication of a cyberattack or national-security threat at this stage (though investigations continue). Mullin also said the outage is not connected to the earlier Microsoft 365 disruption. President Trump has been briefed.

Probable cause?

The rare nationwide ground stop comes days after the Federal Aviation Administration expanded its new AI-supported traffic-management tool, SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories), to the airspace of all 22 US Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The agency announced the nationwide step on 10 November after a limited rollout in the Washington DC area in September. SMART, part of an $875 million contract, analyses weather, schedules, traffic flows and other data to recommend routes and help reduce delays; human specialists review the suggestions and controllers retain final authority. It does not control aircraft.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials are looking into whether the recent SMART expansion is connected to the communications outage that triggered the ground stop. He described the incident as a telecommunications outage with “no indication as of yet” of a nefarious attack, and said it was not linked to the earlier Microsoft 365 disruption. The company behind SMART has stated that the ground stop was not caused by its system. The cause remains under investigation.

For many with flights booked to or from the States, and those planning trips that involve US connections, the timing is awkward. Recent months have already brought several aviation headaches on European routes, including UK air traffic control failures that delayed Spain-bound flights and a Gatwick runway incident that briefly halted departures, including those to Spain.

BREAKING: The FAA has ordered a nationwide ground stop, halting departures across the United States after radio frequency and radar outages affected several air traffic control centers and terminal facilities.

The stop applies to all centers and destinations and is expected to remain in effect until at least 5:00 PM Eastern. Earlier, flights were halted at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports. The cause of the outages is not yet known.

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 13, 2026

Knock-on effects expected to be huge

The stop is expected to create significant knock-on delays once it is lifted, as aircraft and crews end up out of position. Travellers heading to or from the United States, or connecting through American hubs, are being advised to check with their airlines before going to the airport.

WATCH: Pilot informs passengers of a 7-hour nationwide ground stop as approximately 3,100 aircraft remain airborne. The shutdown is the first nationwide ground stop since 9/11. https://t.co/0bpNWGbfpU

— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) November 13, 2026

For many with flights booked to or from the States, and those planning trips that involve US connections, the timing is awkward. Recent months have already brought several aviation headaches on European routes, including UK air traffic control failures that delayed Spain-bound flights and a Gatwick runway incident that briefly halted departures, including those to Spain.

Anyone with travel plans involving the United States is advised to monitor airline updates closely. The FAA has not yet given a restart time, and further delays are likely even after the ground stop is lifted.

Could this happen in Europe?

Europe has been developing its own AI and automation tools for air traffic management for years through EUROCONTROL and the SESAR programme. These include AI-supported systems for traffic prediction, trajectory optimisation, arrival sequencing and demand-capacity balancing. Projects such as ORCI have tested AI tools that help controllers manage spacing on final approach (with human controllers keeping full decision-making authority), while other SESAR work explores higher levels of automation under strict European safety rules.

EUROCONTROL already uses multiple AI applications for flight planning and network management, and continues to upgrade its systems to support future AI-assisted operations. Like the US approach, European efforts emphasise human oversight rather than replacing controllers.

Anyone with travel plans involving the United States is advised to monitor airline updates closely and check with carriers before heading to the airport.

Flightradar24 live blog related to the FAA’s nationwide ground stop affecting all flights that began at 20:54 UTC. https://t.co/Gvi82hCQx4 https://t.co/X9kfehwZ5j

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 13, 2026