# Nationwide Air Travel Ground Stop

> Federal communications failure halts flights across US for hours.
- Title: Nationwide Air Travel Ground Stop · The New York Times
- Summary: Federal communications failure halts flights across US for hours. US air traffic control system failure caused by contractor upgrade led to nationwide ground…
- Keywords: federal aviation administration, l3harris, air traffic control, ground stop, flight cancellations, fiber optic cable, copper wire, airports, travel disruptions, transportation secretary, The New York Times
- Source: The New York Times — https://nytimes.com/live/2026/11/14/us/faa-nationwide-ground-stop-flights
- Published: 2026-11-14T10:45:54+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: federal aviation administration, l3harris, air traffic control, ground stop, flight cancellations, fiber optic cable, copper wire, airports, travel disruptions, transportation secretary, news, world
## Ground Stop Trigger
Federal officials said the cascading communications failures that forced the government to shut down flights across the United States on Friday started with a contractor upgrading air traffic control equipment.
## Contractor Upgrade
L3Harris, a federal contractor, was upgrading air traffic control equipment by replacing copper wire with fiber optic cable.
## Ground Stop Decision
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare nationwide ground stop for several hours after communications failures spread across air traffic facilities.
## Transportation Secretary
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the specific problem with the upgrade was not yet known but would hold people accountable.
## F.A.A. Administrator
F.A.A. Administrator Bryan Bedford said there was no evidence the communication problems stemmed from cyberattack or artificial intelligence.
## System Recovery
Bedford expected the system to be back to normal by Sunday night, saying the worst was behind them.
## Flight Cancellations
At least 3,000 flights scheduled for Saturday were canceled according to aviation data firm Cirium.
## Chicago Ground Stop
Chicago O’Hare International Airport issued a ground stop for United Airlines flights.
## Funding Request
Duffy called on lawmakers to fully fund upgrades needed to prevent similar failures, requesting another $50 billion from Congress.
## Traveler Impact
Travelers across the United States spent Friday night sleeping in airport hallways after the Federal Aviation Administration halted all flights earlier in the day.
## Passenger Experience
Jasmine Harp, a passenger at Kennedy International Airport, described being without sleep for 20 hours after her flight was canceled.
## Airport Strain
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, travelers slept in airport hallways with luggage as pillows.
## System Vulnerability
The air traffic control system’s routers were mostly manufactured in 2001 and out of service by 2006.
## Contractor Status
L3Harris said they had completed more than 70 percent of the planned airspace communications conversion from copper to fiber optic cable.
## System Recovery Timeline
The F.A.A. expected the system to be back to normal by Sunday night after the ground stop ended Friday evening.
## Traveler Impact
Over 3,900 flights, or about 17 percent of total departures scheduled for Saturday, were canceled nationwide.
## Key takeaway

US air traffic control system failure caused by contractor upgrade led to nationwide ground stop with 3,900 flights canceled Saturday.