November 15, 2026 09:00 AM PST
(PenniesToSave.com) – On Friday afternoon, November 13, more than 3,500 airplanes were in American skies when the Federal Aviation Administration ordered every departing flight in the country to remain on the ground [4]. The cause, according to federal officials, was an intermittent failure of radar and communications at the regional air traffic control centers that guide planes at high altitude between airports [1]. It was only the second nationwide ground stop since the September 11, 2001, attacks, and the Associated Press described it as the longest in 25 years [2].
The disruption landed on ordinary families at a costly moment. Roughly 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers had been scheduled to depart U.S. airports after 4 p.m. Eastern that day [2]. Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and many households are already stretching their household budgets to cover holiday travel. Hours after flights resumed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stood in the White House briefing room and pressed Congress for emergency funding that one estimate places at about $50 billion [4][5]. That request raises a fair question for every taxpayer: what went wrong, and what will the next round of spending actually fix?
Quick Links
- What Happened When Flights Were Grounded Nationwide?
- What Caused the Outage, According to Officials?
- Why Are Some Experts Skeptical of the Explanation?
- How Much Taxpayer Money Is Already Committed, and How Much More Is Being Requested?
- What Do Airlines Owe Passengers After a Ground Stop?
- Will Thanksgiving Travel Be Affected?
What Happened When Flights Were Grounded Nationwide?
According to Duffy, instability in the nation’s radar and communications systems began at 3:36 p.m. Eastern time [4]. The FAA issued its nationwide order shortly before 4 p.m., citing extraordinary circumstances and safety, and directed all departing traffic to remain on the ground until further notice [4]. The BBC placed the start of the order at 3:54 p.m. Eastern [3]. The order was lifted at 8:15 p.m., more than four hours later, although the main AP report described a window closer to five hours [2][3][4].
During that stretch, air traffic controllers worked to bring airborne planes down safely. Fox Business reported the number of aircraft in the sky fell to 389 shortly before 8 p.m. [4]. Mullin said more than 3,000 flights were landed without incident [2]. At least 827 flights were diverted by early evening, with 670 sent back to their airports of origin and 157 sent elsewhere, according to the aviation analytics firm Cirium [2].
Not everything sat idle. Duffy said the FAA never lost all radar or telecommunications, and exceptions allowed medevac, lifesaving cargo, and law enforcement flights to continue [4]. Alaska Airlines said its flights within Alaska and between the Hawaiian islands were unaffected [6]. Some international departures bound for Asia, Hawaii, and Europe were cleared because they were leaving U.S. airspace [6].
The effects spread abroad. Europe’s air traffic agency suspended U.S.-bound departures at the FAA’s request, Mexico held its flights headed to the United States, and Air Canada canceled all U.S. service for the evening [6]. By Friday’s end, more than 15,000 U.S. flights had been delayed or canceled, including more than 7,700 cancellations tracked by FlightAware [3][5].
What Caused the Outage, According to Officials?
The two cabinet secretaries who briefed reporters offered explanations that overlap but differ in emphasis. Duffy blamed an incredibly old air traffic control network built on aging switches, aging routers, and copper communication lines dating to the 1980s, which he said became overloaded [1][4]. According to the BBC, he said the overloaded routers began producing inconsistent data [3]. Duffy also said the FAA’s new AI-powered forecasting system was not involved and that all newly deployed equipment stayed online, with the failure confined to legacy gear [2].
Mullin framed it differently. He said the FAA had been installing new equipment and new technology, and that the additions were overwhelming the older system [2]. CNN and AP’s live coverage both reported his account that patching modern components into an aging framework triggered the breakdown [5][6]. Readers weighing the two versions should note that one points to old equipment failing under load while the other points to new equipment straining the old.
Concerns about a cyberattack shifted over the course of the day. Early on, Mullin told reporters officials were not ruling anything out, including a possible link to Thursday’s Microsoft outage [6]. By evening, he said there was no evidence of an attack and described the problem as mechanically driven [1][2]. Microsoft said it had no indication of any connection, and Air Space Intelligence, the company behind the FAA’s new SMART forecasting tool, denied any role [1][6].
The FAA itself said comparatively little. Agency leaders did not appear at the White House briefing, and NPR reported that when pressed on why the systems would become overwhelmed on an otherwise ordinary travel day, Duffy did not have a ready answer [1]. The FAA told Fox News that claims of a software outage were false and said it had thoroughly tested its systems before allowing departures to resume [4][6].
Why Are Some Experts Skeptical of the Explanation?
Former TSA Administrator John Pistole told the BBC he was not optimistic about how quickly airports would recover. He acknowledged the equipment is antiquated but said it remains unclear why the fault occurred when it did, a concern heading into the holiday season [3]. He credited the system for restarting in roughly four and a half hours, then raised a pointed question about what comes next [3].
What’s to say it’s not going to happen tomorrow?
John Pistole, former TSA Administrator [3]
Aviation safety expert David Soucie told CNN that the real challenge lies in how these systems connect and depend on one another, not simply in replacing old hardware [5]. He noted that copper lines were used for decades in part because they could not easily be modified or hacked, and that even a brand new digital network would bring vulnerabilities the old one never had [5].
Some front line skepticism came through the press. Washington Examiner reporter Anna Giaritelli told CNN she had been in contact with 60 air traffic controllers and that none accepted Duffy’s explanation, noting that equipment switchovers are typically scheduled midweek in the middle of the night rather than on a busy Friday afternoon [5]. That claim rests on a single reporter’s sourcing and has not been independently confirmed [5]. CNN also noted that just one week earlier, on November 6, the FAA announced plans to retire floppy disks at more than 400 facilities by the end of 2028, though any link to Friday’s failure is unclear [5].
Others urged calm. Former United Airlines pilot Steve Arroyo compared the event to a September communications outage across the Northeast caused by a cut fiber line, only on a national scale [2]. Aviation professor Skip Bailey of the University of Nebraska at Omaha said pilots are trained to hold their assigned headings and follow filed flight plans if communication drops [6]. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut called for a prompt and thorough investigation [1].
How Much Taxpayer Money Is Already Committed, and How Much More Is Being Requested?
Modernizing air traffic control is not a new project. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to begin the overhaul, and the FAA has since replaced thousands of copper wires with fiber optic lines and upgraded hundreds of radio systems [2]. The White House is lobbying for roughly $30 billion more to finish the work, and the BBC reported President Trump has requested $30.1 billion [2][3].
On Friday, the administration raised the stakes. Officials called for emergency funding for a complete overhaul estimated at about $50 billion, a figure Fox Business attributed to Duffy and CNN and AP attributed to Mullin [4][5][6]. Duffy described the situation as an emergency and painted a grim picture of the facilities controllers work in, saying many towers are nearly 100 years old, with leaking roofs and broken air conditioning and elevators [6]. He blamed Congress for not moving faster and argued that inaction injects far more risk into the system [2]. Both secretaries warned a similar failure could occur again without upgrades [3].
Senate leaders have offered their own view of priorities. The Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Ted Cruz, noted that no new regional air traffic control center has been built since Lyndon Johnson was president [4]. The committee said Cruz secured $1.9 billion in the Working Families Tax Cut Act to replace and consolidate those outdated centers, and argued they should come before other projects [4]. Republicans currently control both chambers of Congress [3].
The case for modernization is strong on its face. Still, Friday’s breakdown happened in the middle of an overhaul taxpayers are already funding. Before committing another $30 billion to $50 billion, households have every reason to expect a clear accounting of the root cause, what the first $12.5 billion has delivered, and firm milestones for what comes next. Responsible stewardship of public money and an air traffic system that works are not competing goals.
What Do Airlines Owe Passengers After a Ground Stop?
Here is the part many stranded travelers may not like. An FAA computer problem is considered outside the airlines’ control, much like bad weather [6]. That means carriers are only obligated to offer free rebooking for travelers who still want to reach their destination, or a refund if a flight is canceled and the traveler decides not to go [6]. No additional compensation is required [6].
The refund right is worth knowing well. Katy Nastro of the travel site Going.com, citing Department of Transportation rules, told CNN that travelers whose flights are canceled are owed a full refund and may turn down a travel credit in favor of cash [5]. Eric Napoli, chief legal officer at the passenger rights company AirHelp, advised making alternative plans immediately when disruption looms and favoring early morning flights, which tend to see fewer delays [5]. Some carriers added flexibility on their own. Frontier issued a travel waiver for customers scheduled to fly November 13 through 15 [4], while JetBlue canceled its remaining domestic flights Friday evening and warned of more cancellations [6].
The costs the rules do not cover fall on families. One high school teacher sat on the tarmac in Charlotte for four hours, then paid $100 for an Uber to a hotel [6]. Nashville’s airport advised passengers to book hotel rooms, Enterprise reported higher than usual rental car demand, and Amtrak saw heavy call volumes from travelers seeking alternatives [4]. Unplanned expenses like these are exactly why automating contributions to an emergency fund pays off.
Communication was a common complaint. Emily Brown, waiting at Dallas Fort Worth with her teenage daughter, said passengers were learning more from one another than from the airline [6]. Ruth Coles spent more than five hours aboard her plane at Los Angeles International Airport waiting for a gate [6]. One Canadian traveler, rebooked for Tuesday, told Fox News he was without his insulin [4].
Will Thanksgiving Travel Be Affected?
The cleanup is already spilling into the weekend. FlightAware showed more than 2,000 flights within, into, or out of the United States canceled for Saturday and more than 300 delayed, while another CNN update estimated roughly 3,000 flights would be delayed or canceled [5]. With so many aircraft unable to depart Friday, airports ran out of gates and tarmac space [5]. Planes and crews ended up far from where they were scheduled to be, and full recovery is likely to take days [2]. Delta warned that resetting its operation, including positioning aircraft and crews, would take time [4].
Officials struck a cautiously hopeful tone about the holiday. Duffy said he expected flights nationwide to be back up and operating as the busiest stretch of travel arrives next weekend [2]. He was less certain about the longer term.
But, you will have more of these.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy [2]
In a separate exchange, Duffy said he did not know whether this exact scenario would happen again [6]. The ripple effects reached well beyond vacationers. Auburn took a bus to Mississippi State after the SEC moved kickoff to 4:15 p.m., Purdue boarded buses for Iowa, and the Kansas and West Virginia game moved earlier so Arizona State could get more time after its delayed flight to Florida [6]. Duffy said NCAA teams would be prioritized for Saturday games [2]. The Brooklyn Nets sat on their plane in New Orleans, and the San Jose Sharks waited to leave for Utah [6]. FedEx said it was ready with contingency plans, a reminder that U.S. airlines move about 61,000 tons of goods every day [2][6].
For anyone flying this month, the practical steps are simple: book the earliest flight available, build in a buffer day, check flight status before leaving home, and know the refund rules before reaching the airport [4][5][6].
Final Thoughts
By the administration’s account, Friday could have been far worse. Mullin stressed that no lives or flights were ever at risk and that the FAA acted out of an abundance of caution [6]. Thousands of planes landed safely, and departures resumed within hours [2][4].
Even so, the most important questions remain open. The two officials who explained the outage described its cause differently, the FAA has offered few details, and some controllers reportedly doubt the official account [1][5][6]. Taxpayers have already committed $12.5 billion to fixing the system, and Washington is now asking for as much as $50 billion more [2][4]. Americans deserve a clear explanation and a credible plan before that money moves.
In the meantime, the lesson for households is self-reliance. Know what an airline owes you, keep a cushion for unexpected travel costs, and plan holiday trips with room for delays [5][6].
Works Cited
[1] Rose, Joel, et al. “Old Tech Blamed for the Ground Stop That Caused Flight Chaos: ‘It Got Overloaded.'” NPR, 13 Nov. 2026, www.npr.org/2026/11/13/nx-s1-6040403/faa-nationwide-groundstop-airports.
[2] Funk, Josh, and Will Weissert. “Trump Administration Blames ‘Overloaded’ Systems for Ground Stop after FAA Lets Flights Resume.” AP News, 13 Nov. 2026, apnews.com/article/flights-halted-airports-faa-f81b0904331dafad6133f291e5f531a8.
[3] Davidson, Helen. “US Grounds All Flights for Hours over Tech Issues, Prompting Travel Chaos.” BBC News, 14 Nov. 2026, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6wy9lynq4qno.
[4] Stimson, Brie, and Louis Casiano. “Nationwide FAA Ground Stop Lifted but Cancellations, Significant Delays to Continue: Transportation Secretary.” FOX Business, 13 Nov. 2026, www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-us/nationwide-faa-ground-stop-lifted-cancellations-significant-delays-continue-transportation-secretary.
[5] “Thousands of Travelers Stranded as Some Flights Resume after Hours-Long Ground Stop.” CNN, 14 Nov. 2026, www.cnn.com/2026/11/13/us/live-news/flights-ground-stop-faa.
[6] Petesch, Carley, et al., editors. “Nationwide Flight Delays and Cancellations Continue after FAA Lifts Ground Stop.” AP News, 13 Nov. 2026, apnews.com/live/ground-stop-aviation-flights-news-updates-11-13-2026.