Trump administration officials said Friday (November 13, 2026) that new technology being added to the nation's air traffic control system overloaded antiquated systems and caused “intermittent” communications and radar gaps, leading to the longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years.
asserted
technology → say → years
It was lifted Friday (November 13, 2026) night after a five-hour stretch when most flights were not allowed to take off from airports in the United States.
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flights → lift → States
Thousands of flights and potentially over a million travellers were affected from coast to coast.
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Thousands → affect → coast
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the White House that no one was in any danger as more than 3,000 flights were safely landed.
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flights → tell → danger
But Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said he could not guarantee it wouldn't happen again.
uncertain
it → say → Transportation
Mr. Mullin said the FAA was installing “new equipment, new technology” and “it was overwhelming the older system.”
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it → say → system
There appeared to be no indication of a cyberattack, Mr. Mullin said.
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Mullin → appear → cyberattack
A limited number of domestic flights began departing Friday (November 13, 2026) evening after the ground stop was lifted, but it would likely take days for airlines to fully recover because so many planes and crews were out of position.
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planes → depart → position
Officials said they think the system will be back to normal in time to handle the Thanksgiving travel rush.
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system → say → rush
The nationwide ground stop was the first since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, and the second since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
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system → malfunction → attacks
Mullin says no sign of nefarious act
Asked whether he could rule out a cyberattack or rogue artificial intelligence incident, Mr. Mullin said: “There's nothing completely certain right now.
uncertain
Mullin → say → cyberattack
It doesn't appear that way.”
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It → appear → ?
He said there are no “footprints” showing an attack and that it appears to be “mechanically driven,” adding that officials were still looking for the cause.
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officials → say → cause
At least 827 flights had been diverted.
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flights → divert → ?
As of 7.05 p.m. EST, 670 flights were sent back to the airport from where they originally took off, while 157 were redirected to a different airport, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
uncertain
157 → send → Cirium
The airports where many of the flights ended up being diverted included Washington Dulles International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and Nashville International Airport.
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many → end → Airport
Some 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers had been scheduled to take off from airports in the U.S. after 4 p.m. EST.
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flights → carry → EST
At the time of the ground stoppage, 3,500 airplanes were in the sky, Mr. Duffy said.
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Duffy → say → sky
“And last time I looked, we had less than 400 in the airspace,” he said.
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he → look → airspace
He said it's going to be slow getting air traffic back to normal.
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it → say → traffic
At Chicago O'Hare Airport on Friday (November 13, 2026) afternoon, travellers passing through security learned about the ground stop when they looked up at screens that showed flight delays across the board.
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that → pass → board
Some called friends or family members, debating whether to stay the night in Chicago or find another way to their destinations.
Amber McQuilkin, 27, sat on a bench, disappointed that she might miss a trip with friends to New York for the League of Legends world finals.
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she → call → finals
Her friends, she said, had already arrived there.
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she → say → ?
“There's not really any information being passed to me,” said the Seattle software engineer, who took a week of vacation for the trip.
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who → be → trip
“I contemplated just abandoning the flight and driving, but then the more I thought about it, the more I'm like, that would be miserable.”
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that → contemplate → it
Austin Curtis and his wife were rethinking their trip from South Bend, Indiana, to a friend's baby shower in Denver after getting delayed during a layover in Chicago.
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Curtis → rethink → Chicago
They had boarded a flight to Denver from O'Hare International Airport when they were told to get off the plane.
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they → board → plane
“We did see them taking luggage off our plane and others, so we're assuming it's going to be a pretty substantial delay,” Mr. Curtis said.
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Curtis → see → plane
They were unsure whether to get a hotel room or keep waiting out the delay at the airport.
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They → get → airport
With care already in place for their two young children at home, they might stay the weekend in Chicago, he said.
uncertain
he → stay → Chicago
Sports teams stranded and cargo flights delayed
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flights → strand → ?
NBA, NHL and college teams were left stranded as they tried to reach their destinations.
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they → leave → destinations
Meanwhile, NFL teams were left to wonder whether the issue would be resolved in time to travel to their games this weekend.
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issue → leave → games
Mr. Duffy said NCAA teams will be prioritized ahead of football games on Saturday (November 14, 2026).
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teams → say → Saturday
“I would encourage those football teams to reach out to the FAA, to schedule their flight times and make sure they can move” to make their kickoff, he said.
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he → encourage → kickoff
Cargo flights were also delayed by the ground stop.
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flights → delay → stop
FedEx, the world's largest cargo airline, said it was prepared to activate contingency plans to keep any possible disruptions at a minimum.
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it → say → minimum
U.S. airlines move about 61,000 tons (55,340 metric tonnes) of goods — from letters to packages — to and from more than 220 countries daily, according to the industry trade group Airlines for America.
uncertain
airlines → move → America
Despite the ground stop, SpaceX launched its Starship rocket from Texas on Friday (November 13, 2026) afternoon in its latest test flight.
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SpaceX → launch → flight
Past problems have also been linked to equipment failures
The problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, although that disruption was linked to a construction crew cutting a fiber optic line.
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disruption → link → line
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
