On November 13, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated a nationwide ground stop for all flights in the United States. The measure began at approximately 1 p.m. PST following a major communications failure that affected multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin attributed the incident primarily to telecommunications issues. He stated that there is no evidence linking the disruption to terrorism or cyberattacks, though he noted that artificial intelligence cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor.
The FAA has recently implemented AI-powered flight-routing tools intended to improve efficiency and reduce delays. The ongoing investigation aims to determine whether these algorithmic systems played a role in the communications breakdown.
The disruption caused significant flight delays, with some reaching up to 240 minutes. This event marks the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a failure in the NOTAM system grounded flights across the country.
