The FAA halted departing flights at every U.S. airport Friday afternoon after a communications outage hit air traffic control centers. Orlando International has about 220 departures waiting.
Planes are not leaving the ground anywhere in the United States right now.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon, Nov. 13, ordering departing flights at every U.S. airport to stay put “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” The order took effect at about 3:54 p.m. Eastern.
That includes Orlando International Airport, the main gateway for Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando visitors.
Why did the FAA issue a nationwide ground stop?
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the ground stop followed “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” Those centers guide planes between airports, across the country’s airspace.
The FAA later blamed a “temporary telecommunications outage” and said all flights had been halted out of an abundance of caution, CNN reports. The agency said every flight was accounted for.
The Homeland Security secretary said the ground stop did not stem from a threat to the country. Two law enforcement officials told CNN that preliminary reports show it was not a cyberattack.
Shortly before the nationwide order, both of Chicago’s major airports, O’Hare and Midway, were placed under a ground stop because of an equipment outage, CBS News reports.
Are flights leaving Orlando International Airport?
No. Orlando International is still taking in flights that were already in the air, but no flights are departing, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority said.
Every flight is on a delay. The airport said about 220 departures were scheduled between 3:30 p.m. and midnight Friday. Officials have not said how many will end up delayed or canceled.
If you are flying home from a Disney or Universal trip tonight, check your airline’s app before you leave your hotel. Sitting in a hotel lobby beats sitting at a gate.
When will flights resume after the FAA ground stop?
The FAA has not said. Its order tells departing traffic to stay grounded “until further notice.”
An FAA advisory listed an estimated end late Friday night, but the agency has said the stop could be lifted early or extended. International flights headed to the U.S. are being handled case by case.
By late Friday afternoon, FlightAware was tracking more than 7,800 delayed U.S. flights and about 380 cancellations, according to reports citing the flight-tracking site. Those numbers will grow the longer the stop lasts.
Delays tend to snowball after a ground stop, CNBC notes, because flight crews start hitting the legal limit on how many hours they can work in a day.
Has the FAA done a nationwide ground stop before?
Only a couple of times. The last nationwide ground stop came in January 2023, when the FAA’s system that sends safety notices to pilots failed. Flights were grounded for a few hours that morning.
Before that, the FAA grounded all U.S. departures after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
What should travelers do during the ground stop?
Check your airline’s app or website for your flight status, and turn on text alerts. Airlines usually post rebooking options and travel waivers once a disruption like this drags on.
If you are already at the airport, stay close to your gate in case flights start moving quickly once the stop is lifted. If you have not left yet, it is smarter to wait for an update.
For Disney World guests, a delayed flight home may mean an extra night. Disney resort front desks can help with extending a stay, but hotel space can fill fast on a busy November weekend.
This is a developing story.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
FAA and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on X (Nov. 13, 2026), the ground stop order and cause
CNN (Nov. 13, 2026), the telecommunications outage statement and cyberattack reports
Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (Nov. 13, 2026), the Orlando departure status
CBS News (Nov. 13, 2026), the Chicago ground stops
CNBC (Nov. 13, 2026), the crew duty limits and 2023 ground stop
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