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    Photos Show Trouble at Airports As FAA Issues Nationwide Ground Stop | Invesloan.com

    Updated:

    ‘All flights have been halted’


    Passengers wait at McGhee Tyson Airport after the FAA issued a ground stop for all flights across the U.S. on Nov. 13.

    Passengers wait at McGhee Tyson Airport after the FAA issued a ground stop for all flights across the U.S. on Nov. 13.

    Adam Sparks/News Sentinel/Reuters

    Boarding areas began to fill up at airports across the country.

    On Friday afternoon, the FAA said in a post on X that there has been a temporary telecommunications outage.

    “Out of an abundance of caution, all flights have been halted,” said the FAA. “Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.”

    The exact cause remains unclear


    A person stands in front of a departures board at Logan international airport after the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a national ground stop "due to extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety" following the agency's earlier report of serious air traffic control communications issues, in East Boston, Massachussett

    A person stands in front of a departures board at Logan International Airport.

    Brian Snyder/Reuters

    Flight boards are flashing red and orange across all major airports. Transportation officials have not yet said why they issued the ground stop.

    The FAA is prepared to make a system update


    Passengers wait inside the main terminal after the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a national ground stop "due to extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety" following the agency's earlier report of serious air traffic control communications issues at Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Virginia

    Passengers wait inside the main terminal, following the agency’s earlier report of serious air traffic control communications issues at Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Virginia, US, November 13, 2026.

    Daniel Heuer/Reuters

    In some airports, stranded passengers are congregating in terminals as security check lines grow longer.

    In June, Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced that the agency awarded a contract to Air Space Intelligence for two technologies said to improve how flights are scheduled and managed across the national airspace system.

    The new system, named SMART, runs on Air Space Intelligence’s National Airspace System, which uses “the AI that models the entire system, from the airline operation to air traffic control, and clears the bottlenecks before delays cascade.”

    Air Space Intelligence said in an X post that the new system was not the cause of the communications problem that prompted the ground stop.

    lines are growing in many airports


    Travelers wait near Gate 8 in a sunlit airport terminal with luggage and boarding counters.

    Lines are forming at the Salt Lake City airport after passengers were told to disembark a flight to Chicago.

    Jon Lett

    Jon Lett, a passenger who was traveling from the Salt Lake City Airport to Chicago, told Business Insider that everyone on his flight has been told to disembark and wait.

    Lett said that, though the mood among passengers remains “chill,” there is no telling whether his flight will be able to depart anytime soon.

    Planes are parked on the tarmac


    TOPSHOT - Planes wait on the tarmac at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, on November 13, 2026. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a ground stop at all US airports. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

    Planes wait on the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, on November 13, 2026.

    KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP via Getty Images

    Photos show planes parked back-to-back at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

    National ground stops are historically rare for the FAA.

    In January 2023, the FAA halted flights because of an outage involving its pilot alert system. Before that, nationwide air traffic was halted following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

    Traffic outside the airports also began to pile up


    Traffic airport

    Traffic piles up outside a terminal at Dulles International in Virginia after the FAA issued a national ground stop “due to extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety” on Friday.

    Daniel Heuer/Reuters

    Traffic outside airports began to pile up as the nationwide ground stop became a multi-hour emergency.

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