All departing U.S. flights grounded due to communication outage

NEW YORK All flights in the U.S. were grounded on Friday (November 13, 2026), sparking travel chaos across the vast country, after what government officials said was a major communications outage, insisting it was not the result of any “nefarious attack.” The nationwide stop left tens of thousands of passengers in limbo, with some pulled off planes moments before departure by airline staff who appeared in the dark about unfolding events. The incident marked only the second time such an alert was given in U.S.

airspace since the 9/11 attacks. “So supposedly, nobody’s flying, but they haven’t told the public yet,” said an exasperated Joseph Anderson, 72, who was trying to fly from Las Vegas to Oakland, California. “We’re trying to debate whether or not we need to reschedule or drive or what, but if the whole country is stopped, that means the highways are going to be jammed too.” The Federal Aviation Administration “issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S.

airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centres,” the agency said.