We wrote this on November 15, 2026, from the FAA’s own statement and reporting by AP, CBS News, Al Jazeera and others. Officials are still investigating, and some early figures differ between sources. Where they do, we say so and name the source.
What happened to US flights on November 13
On the afternoon of Friday, November 13, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for all US airports. In its statement, the FAA said the stop was due to “communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers” and that its technicians were investigating.
Air Route Traffic Control Centers handle aircraft between airports, in the en-route part of a flight. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the communications issue affected all 22 of these regional centres, according to AP and RTÉ. The FAA told the public the outage was temporary and that every flight in the air had been accounted for.
A ground stop means aircraft on the ground are not allowed to depart. Planes already flying continued to their destinations or diverted. Duffy said all airborne planes landed safely, CBS News reported, and aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo told AP that pilots were likely still able to talk to controllers, unlike on September 11, 2001, when planes were told to land at once.
This was the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system failed, and before that the stop after the September 11 attacks. AP also noted a regional communications outage in September 2026 that disrupted hundreds of flights in the Northeast.
Timeline of the ground stop (Eastern Time)
Reported times vary slightly by outlet, so we show the source for each.
What officials have said about the cause
The FAA’s own statement says only that communication issues hit multiple control centres and that technicians are investigating. Officials have since given more detail, but they describe it as preliminary.
- Overloaded network equipment: Duffy said routers and switches became overloaded with data, which caused inconsistent information to flow, so the system was shut down. He said radar and communications were never completely lost, Al Jazeera reported.
- Contractor work: Duffy said the problem began while contractor L3Harris Technologies was replacing old copper wire with fibre in the air traffic control system, according to AP. Investigators are looking at whether contractor error or faulty equipment, possibly a router, caused it. L3Harris said it is supporting the FAA’s investigation.
- Old equipment: Senior government sources told CBS News the problem was isolated to older Cisco routers. Duffy said, “What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system.”
- Other lines of inquiry: AP reported that investigators would check whether there was any link to a new FAA AI rerouting system, which runs from one site near Washington, DC, and only sends recommendations to controllers.
On security, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, “It’s just a telecommunications outage,” and that there was no sign of a nefarious act. Al Jazeera, citing Bloomberg, reported that the FBI does not believe a cyber attack or criminal activity was behind the failure.
A full explanation will come from the FAA’s investigation. Until then, treat anything beyond these official statements as unconfirmed.
How many flights were affected
Counts differ because trackers measure different things and update through the day. Here is what the main sources reported.
- Friday, November 13: CBS News, citing FlightAware, reported 9,159 flights cancelled and 7,190 delayed. Al Jazeera, citing FlightAware via CBS, reported more than 10,000 delayed and at least 4,000 cancelled at an earlier point.
- In the air: CBS News reported about 3,500 flights in the air when the stop began. Al Jazeera, citing Flightradar24, reported 4,042 flights heading to US airports.
- Passengers: AP reported about 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to depart after 4 p.m. ET on Friday.
- Saturday, November 14: FlightAware reported more than 4,100 cancellations and Cirium more than 3,200, according to AP. CBS News reported more than 3,800 cancellations.
Diversions were concentrated at Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Dallas Fort Worth and Reagan National, AP reported. International travel was hit too: Dublin Airport warned that US flights could be affected on Saturday, and Aer Lingus said some of its US flights were cleared to land and depart.
What passengers are owed under US rules
The US Department of Transportation sets the refund rules for flights to, from and within the United States. According to DOT’s refunds page:
- Cancelled flights: if the airline cancels your flight, regardless of the reason, and you choose not to travel or accept credits or vouchers, you are entitled to a refund.
- Significant changes: you are also entitled to a refund if you decline a significantly changed flight, for example one that arrives three or more hours later on a domestic trip or six or more hours later on an international trip.
- Timing: refunds are due within 7 business days for credit card purchases and within 20 days for other payment methods.
- Checked bag fees: refundable if a bag is significantly delayed, for example not delivered within 12 hours of arrival on a domestic flight, once you file a mishandled baggage report.
DOT also says extra compensation and amenities, such as meals or hotels, depend on whether the delay was within the airline’s control. Air traffic control failures are generally outside an airline’s control, so check your airline’s own commitments rather than assuming you will get them.
Airline travel waivers after the ground stop
Major US airlines issued travel waivers. As reported by Fox News on November 14, these included:
Waiver terms can change. Always confirm the current terms on your airline’s website or app before you rebook.
What traveling videographers and photographers should learn from it
Wedding filmmakers, event shooters and real estate media teams fly constantly. A ground stop on a Friday afternoon, just before a weekend of weddings and events, shows how quickly a schedule can fall apart. These habits protect your shoot when the air system fails.
Arrive the day before
For weddings and one-time events, fly in at least a day early. A same-day arrival leaves no room for a ground stop.
Know a backup route
Note alternative airports, train links or a realistic driving time for each job.
Keep a local backup shooter list
Know who you could call in the destination city if you cannot get there.
Put travel risk in your contract
Say what happens if travel is disrupted by events outside your control, such as a substitute shooter or a rescheduled session. Check the wording with a lawyer in your market.
Pack for a long delay
Carry chargers, a power bank and enough batteries to stay reachable and ready to shoot if you land late and go straight to the venue.
Tell your client early
A short message the moment you hear of a ground stop builds trust, even when you do not have answers yet.
Our guide to flying with a camera covers packing and airport security in more detail.
Protecting footage and deadlines when flights are cancelled
The shoot is only half the job. After the wedding, your cards are the most valuable thing you carry. Delays, diversions and rebooked connections add risk.
- Back up before you fly home: copy cards to at least one drive the night of the shoot. Our 3-2-1 backup strategy guide explains a setup that works on the road.
- Carry footage in the cabin: keep cards and backup drives with you, never in checked bags.
- Split copies: when two shooters travel, each carries a different copy.
- Upload when you can: a stranded night in an airport hotel can still be productive if you start uploading selects or the full shoot to your editor. See how to send wedding footage to an editor.
- Protect client data: use secure links and avoid sending files over public Wi-Fi without care. Our guide to keeping client footage safe covers the basics.
- Reset delivery dates honestly: if travel cost you two days, tell the couple or client when they can expect their film rather than rushing the edit.
Travel chaos also tends to follow other disruptions. Earlier this week a Microsoft 365 outage took down Outlook for many businesses. Studios with a second contact channel and more than one file-transfer route rode out both.
How Cut Pro Media helps when travel goes wrong
Cut Pro Media is a B2B post-production studio. While you are stuck in an airport or catching up on shoots after a disruption, we can take the edit off your plate. Upload your footage through Dropbox, Google Drive or WeTransfer, and the same dedicated editor works on your projects every time.
Turnaround is 10–15 days for wedding films, 5–10 days for wedding photos, 24 hours for real estate and 1–3 working days for commercial, product video and ads. Every project includes up to 2 hours of revisions (music changes not included). See full pricing.
We edit every kind of video: wedding, real estate, commercial, product, online ads, corporate, interview, testimonial, social media, music, sports, church and holiday videos, plus wedding photo editing.
Common questions
Sources: FAA, “FAA Statement on Nationwide Ground Stop”, 13 November 2026; AP via PBS NewsHour, “FAA grounds all flights at U.S. airports due to air traffic control communications problems”, 13 November 2026; AP via CP24, “U.S. air travel schedule should fully recover by end of Sunday, FAA says”, 14 November 2026; CBS News, “Travelers stranded and thousands of flights canceled after FAA ground stop”, 14 November 2026; Al Jazeera, “US flights resume after FAA lifts hours-long nationwide ground stop”, 13 November 2026; RTÉ, “Widespread disruption as departing flights grounded in US”, 13–14 November 2026; Fox News, live coverage, 14 November 2026; US Department of Transportation, “Refunds”, updated 7 November 2025. Read 15 November 2026. The investigation was ongoing at the time of writing.
