FAA grounds nationwide flight departures over communication outages: What local travelers and pilots need to know
As of 4:30 p.m. November 13, officials say no sign of attack as local pilots face restrictions.
UPDATE 4:45PM FRI NOV 2026
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all departing flights across the United States on Friday afternoon following widespread telecommunications failures across regional air traffic control centers.
According to national news reports, federal officials confirmed that all airborne planes are safely accounted for and there is no indication of an attack, while Saline County authorities issued specific airspace advisories for local general aviation pilots. Read more below.
According to federal notices cited by Scripps News, the nationwide ground stop was ordered “DUE TO EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES AND FOR REASONS OF SAFETY,” requiring all air traffic set to depart U.S. airports to remain on the ground. The FAA noted that incoming flights from international origins were being evaluated on a “case by case basis.”
The Washington Examiner reported that two FAA employees confirmed the ground stop was triggered by a “rolling frequency outage” affecting facilities responsible for monitoring aircraft in flight.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications failure disrupted operations across the 22 regional air traffic control centers that manage planes en route between airports. FAA technicians were working to identify and fix the underlying issue.
The AP also reported that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin addressed the disruption during a media briefing, reassuring travelers that the incident appeared technical rather than hostile.
“There was no indication as of yet this was a nefarious attack against us,” Mullin told reporters, according to the AP. “It’s just a telecommunications outage.”
Mullin added that all aircraft currently in the air have been accounted for and that the traveling public does not need to worry about the safety of airborne flights, according to the AP report.
The Associated Press noted that Friday’s directive marks the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a failure in the FAA’s pilot-alert notification system halted departures. Prior to that, the last nationwide shutdown of U.S. airspace occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.
Aviation safety experts told the AP that Friday’s event resembled a regional communications failure that snarled Northeast travel in September, but on a nationwide level. Former commercial airline pilot Steve Arroyo told The Associated Press that aging communication equipment creates severe vulnerabilities for the aviation system.
“If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop airplanes on the ground,” Arroyo told the AP. “And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them.”
Locally, Saline County Judge Matt Brumley provided a statement to MySaline detailing how the federal ground stop applies to general aviation pilots operating out of Saline County Regional Airport and surrounding regional airspace.
“The FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop for all VFR and IFR aircraft,” Brumley said. “For GA aircraft solely operating in Class G or E airspace who do not intend to utilize ATC services, you are okay to depart. However, if you are IFR or plan to enter controlled airspace or utilize ATC services, you must remain on the ground until 0400Z.”
Brumley noted that the communication failures were tracked from the Midwest before expanding across the country.
“This order followed reported frequency and communication outages at air traffic control facilities, starting with disruptions in Chicago before expanding,” Brumley said.
He urged area pilots to verify clearance before taking off later in the night.
“This time could be extended. Please confirm with Flight Service or Little Rock Clearance before departing, even after 0400Z,” Brumley added, advising aviators and travelers to monitor status updates at nasstatus.faa.gov.
Commercial travelers with Friday evening or Saturday flights are advised to check directly with their airlines for departure status and rebooking information.
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