FAA Orders Nationwide Ground Stop After Communications Issue

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on November 13, 2026, after a communications problem affected air traffic control centers, halting departing flights while officials investigated the cause. The FAA cited extraordinary circumstances and safety. Inbound international flights were to be managed case by case, according to the agency’s alert.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the stoppage followed a communications issue affecting air route traffic control centers. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin attributed it to a telecommunications outage and said officials were investigating whether the disruption could be connected to the FAA’s recently expanded Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories system, known as SMART. Officials had not established such a connection.

Air Space Intelligence, the contractor behind SMART, said the ground stop was not based on or caused by its system, products, or integration with the FAA and air traffic control. An unnamed source cited in one report suggested a software upgrade might have caused the stoppage, but no investigative finding had confirmed that possibility.