The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a rare nationwide ground stop on Friday, halting all departing flights across the United States after frequency outages disrupted air traffic control communications.
In ATCSCC Advisory 111, the agency cited “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” It directed that all departing traffic remain grounded until further notice, while inbound international flights would be managed case by case. Aircraft already airborne were allowed to continue to their destinations and land. The order was initially listed through roughly 11 p.m. Eastern, though officials described it as open-ended pending further updates.
Problems first appeared at facilities handling traffic over Chicago, New York and Boston, then spread as radio frequencies—and in some cases radar capabilities—failed at Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The FAA said technicians were investigating and gave no immediate timeline for when departures could resume.
The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the ground stop stemmed from a communications issue affecting the centers.
Nationwide ground stops are not common. The last one came in January 2023 after a NOTAM system failure; before that, the measure was used after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
All departures at both SEATAC and Paine Field Airport are immediately suspended until further notice.
The FAA has issued a ground stop affecting departures at SEA and other airports across the country. Departures are temporarily suspended. Please check with your airline for flight updates. We'll provide updates as more information becomes available. pic.twitter.com/MDNtlcKmii
Author: Mario Lotmore
