# Thousands of US flights cancelled after nationwide ground stop

> The US aviation authority kept every aircraft in the country on the ground for hours on Friday because an outdated air traffic control communication system was overloaded. Flights have resumed, but thousands were cancelled.

World · published 2026-11-13 21:28 · updated 2026-11-14 15:06 · https://nlnow.nl/a/faa-orders-all-aircraft-in-the-united-states-to-stay-on-the-ground/

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US aviation authority, lifted its nationwide ground stop in the night from Friday to Saturday. On Friday it had ordered all aircraft in the United States to stay on the ground, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines are among the carriers that have resumed flights.

US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said at a White House press conference that an outdated communication system for air traffic control was overloaded by a large amount of data. Its switches and routers could not cope, the system began to give out wrong data and communication failed at control centres across the country. The problems began around 22:00 Dutch time.

Thousands of flights were cancelled on Friday evening and Saturday, and travellers were stranded at airports across the country. Many had to spend the night at the airport, Duffy said.

The FBI sees no sign of a cyberattack or other targeted action. It is looking into whether a software update played a role.

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there is no reason for Americans to be afraid. "At the moment there's no indication, no reason to believe this is the result of a malicious attack on the United States," he said, stressing that it is a telecommunications outage.

Eurocontrol, the European aviation agency, said all air traffic from its member countries to the United States was suspended at the FAA's request. Eurocontrol has 42 member states, including the Netherlands. Schiphol's website said flights departing for the US were delayed by a few hours.

A nationwide ground stop is rare in the US. The last one came in January 2023, when the pilot warning system (NOTAM) failed. Before that, flights were stopped nationwide after the attacks of 11 September 2001.

From NLnow, news from the Netherlands in English. How stories are made: https://nlnow.nl/about/