FAA Lifts Nationwide Ground Stop, Flights Resume with Lingering Delays and Calls for Modernization

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop on all departing U.S. flights on Friday, November 13, 2026, after a telecommunications outage caused widespread disruption. While airspace operations returned to normal by Saturday morning, November 14, 2026, thousands of flights continued to be delayed or canceled as airlines worked to recover. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed there was no indication of a "nefarious act" and attributed the issue to an "incredibly old" air traffic control system, with new security patches overwhelming its routers. Officials are calling for emergency funding to modernize the system.