The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop for all departing flights Friday afternoon, halting air travel across the United States for more than four hours before flights began moving again Friday evening.

The ground stop took effect at 3:54 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after a temporary telecommunications outage caused instability in radar and communications at air traffic control centers and TRACONs nationwide, according to the FAA. The stop was lifted at 8:15 p.m. ET — more than four hours later.

The preliminary cause was overloaded switches and routers producing inconsistent data, officials said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it a legacy-network problem and asked Congress for $50 billion to modernize the system. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there is no evidence of a cyberattack so far, but the investigation remains open.

The disruption rippled across the country. FlightAware counted nearly 5,000 cancellations and more than 10,000 delays on Friday, with nearly 800 cancellations already listed for Saturday. Cirium counted 827 diversions.

It is the third nationwide ground stop in U.S. history and the first since January 2023.

Stranded travelers scrambled for alternatives. Amtrak’s booking systems also buckled Friday evening as passengers turned to rail. At Eugene Airport in Oregon, actors Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya were among the passengers stranded by the stop.

For travelers in northwest Ohio, the nearest major hub is Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW). Travelers should check directly with their airline for the status of their flight. Delta has issued a travel waiver, and recovery is expected to spill into Saturday as planes and crews remain out of position.

Sources: AP coverage via WVLT; Airways Magazine; Live and Let’s Fly; Register-Guard.

Aerial photo of Detroit Metropolitan Airport by Aaron Headly, via Wikimedia Commons.