BREAKING: What's Going On? FAA Issues Nationwide Ground Stop Due to 'Extraordinary Circumstances'

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has halted flights nationwide with a rare ground stop, citing "extraordinary circumstances."

BREAKING: The FAA issues a nationwide ground stop, marking only the second such shutdown since 9/11.

The FAA cites “extraordinary circumstances” and safety concerns as the reason for the sweeping halt.

The reported move raises immediate questions about what prompted such an… https://t.co/Al3O3wzZFi

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 13, 2026

Details remain thin at this point.

BREAKING: The FAA issues a nationwide ground stop at airports “due to extraordinary circumstances and for safety reasons.” https://t.co/FBfzwTZt2j

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 13, 2026

Reports of an unusual RF outage in a number of the most heavily used aviation corridors in the U.S. (the Northeast and Chicago among them) have triggered a series of targeted ground stops which have rapidly cascaded out well beyond the areas initially affected.

Issued by the FAA just moments ago, ALL US airports are currently ground stopped. This means NO flights may depart for US airports. Flights already in the air will be allowed to land. This is related to an FAA equipment outage. pic.twitter.com/wgyuOXeF0k

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 13, 2026

The FAA's own status page currently has ground stops in place at both O’Hare and Midway and attributes the problem to an “equipment outage”. They haven’t specified what equipment failed, why it failed in multiple locations at the same time, or for how long passengers should expect to remain at the gate.

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Radio comms are the lifeblood of ATC. If controllers can’t talk to pilots, aircraft don’t move. A failure at a major hub like O’Hare doesn’t just stay in Chicago for a day or two. It spreads across the country in hours to a point where you’ve got a complete gridlock in terms of delays and cancellations.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy:

"The FAA 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… https://t.co/qHgRmaCGvW

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) November 13, 2026

For perspective, the last time the FAA ordered a nationwide grounding of all departing aircraft was Sept. 11, 2001. There is an important distinction, however: today's order does not direct planes already in the air to land immediately, as the FAA did on 9/11.

🚨 JUST IN: This is only the SECOND TIME since 9/11 the FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop for all aircraft

They're citing "EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES"

Other than 3 years ago, this last happened on 9/11.

There has reportedly been an equipment outage

Hopefully this is… https://t.co/monu90Wuv2

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 13, 2026

There is currently no indication that the outage is related to a terrorist threat or other sinister activity.

CNN: CNN has just learned that the FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights because of extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. 

Now, according to information our aviation correspondent, it's limited to the communication of en route, the air route… https://t.co/CEvSOfi3Jm

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 13, 2026

We are monitoring this story and will provide updates.

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