US suspends all flights for four hours due to air traffic control failure

The Federal Aviation Administration halted all United States flights for approximately four hours on Friday, November 14, 2026, due to communication failures at regional air traffic control centers. This disruption marks the longest flight suspension in the United States since the September 11, 2001, attacks. The outage was caused by data inconsistencies in routers and hardware during routine operations involving aging infrastructure.

Impact on flight schedules

The scale of the disruption varies depending on the tracking data used. Flightradar24 reported nearly 10,000 cancelled flights by 23:30 local time on Friday, November 14. FlightAware reported that 20,000 total flights were affected. The Federal Aviation Administration reported a total of more than 16,000 cancelled flights across Friday and Saturday. For Saturday, November 15, the Federal Aviation Administration reported that between 4,000 and 5,000 of the 41,000 scheduled flights were expected to be cancelled. FlightAware reported 3,900 United States flights cancelled on Saturday and 2,500 United States flights delayed on Saturday.

The incident caused significant delays for international travelers, including passengers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some passengers expressed frustration with the travel disruptions. Lisa Beraid, a passenger, stated she was exhausted and frustrated by the delays. Steven Rathe and Pat Curlett were also identified as passengers affected by the situation.

Government response and safety

United States Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy stated that the incident was not a cyberattack. Secretary Duffy said that it is safe to fly, but operations are returning to normal slowly. He also noted that the recovery of flight operations will be slow because the issue was caused by outdated hardware. Following the disruption, Secretary Duffy and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to discuss the incident.

President Donald Trump has previously requested bipartisan Congressional funding to modernize the air traffic control system. The current disruption highlights the vulnerabilities of the existing infrastructure. Tim Johnson, the Consumer Director at the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, provided advice to travelers regarding the potential for ongoing travel complications.

Infrastructure and technical causes

The technical failure originated from data inconsistencies within routers and hardware during routine operations. These issues were linked to aging infrastructure within the regional air traffic control centers. While specific details regarding individual flight cancellations were reported by various outlets, including a Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Lisbon, the central cause remains the hardware instability. The instability was reported to have started at 15:36 local time. The Federal Aviation Administration continues to manage the recovery of the national airspace as it transitions back to normal operations.

Glossary

• September 11, 2001, attacks — The September 11, 2001, attacks were attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
• United States Secretary of Transportation — The United States Secretary of Transportation is a government office held by individuals such as Norman Mineta and Sean Duffy.
• Secretary of Homeland Security — The Secretary of Homeland Security is a government official, such as Markwayne Mullin, who holds a leadership role within the Department of Homeland Security.
• national airspace — National airspace is the airspace covering a state's land territory and its adjacent territorial waters. It gives a sovereign state a large degree of control over foreign air traffic.