# Thousands stranded as FAA grounds flights nationwide

> A telecommunications issue forced the FAA to ground flights, leaving passengers like Riley Alexis Holmes and Juliana Melo stuck at JFK with cancelled plans and no answers.
- Title: Thousands stranded as FAA grounds flights nationwide
- Summary: A telecommunications issue forced the FAA to ground flights, leaving passengers like Riley Alexis Holmes and Juliana Melo stuck at JFK with cancelled plans…
- Keywords: jfk airport, faa ground stop, flight cancellations, telecommunications issue, stranded passengers, travel disruption, Business Insider
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/flight-canceled-delayed-nationwide-ground-stop-faa-jfk-chaos-2026-11
- Author: Martina Nacach Cowan Ros
- Published: 2026-11-14T01:14:32.702+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: jfk airport, faa ground stop, flight cancellations, telecommunications issue, stranded passengers, travel disruption, business, technology
## Riley Holmes misses her brother's show
Riley Alexis Holmes, twenty-four, arrived at JFK on Friday evening with a ticket to Oregon to see her brother's closing night in the musical Trolls Junior.Her six p.m.flight was delayed almost two hours, then cancelled.

> I called my mom and cried, and I'm just like sitting here waiting for information.
## Juliana Melo stranded far from her daughter
Juliana Melo, thirty, from São Paulo was heading home to her one-year-old daughter after a week's vacation in New York City. She and her husband waited at Terminal four with no airline contact about rescheduling.

> She's waiting for us in Brazil with my mother and the babysitter. So we are very nervous.
## FAA grounds flights out of caution
Officials said the FAA grounded flights out of an abundance of caution after a telecommunications issue. The nationwide ground stop delayed or cancelled thousands of flights and stranded thousands of passengers across the country.
## Lennard Meijer loses his bag twice
Lennard Meijer, forty-nine, travelled from Amsterdam for a one-week business trip.Due to weather, his flight was delayed then cancelled.Rebooked and cancelled again, he lost access to his checked bag before finally securing a Delta seat.

> I'm half waiting for news, half deciding to take some basic stuff out of here.
## Kieran Cullen's layover becomes a nightmare
Kieran Cullen, twenty-seven, had been travelling for over twenty-four hours after his overseas deployment ended.He was headed home to Jacksonville, Florida, stopping at JFK for a layover expected to last about five hours.

> It's over twenty-four hours of travel, so it's definitely a bummer.
## Delta's refund offer comes with a catch
Delta told Holmes that if she does not reschedule her flight to Oregon in the next twenty-four hours, she can get a full refund.If she decides to reschedule, she will not get her money back.
## Holmes waits to see if she can make the show
Holmes said her first reaction was sadness, but then she was grateful everyone was okay.She was waiting to see if she could get on a flight to see her brother's final performance in Trolls Junior.

> My first initial reaction was I was very sad, but then I was really grateful that I'm OK and that everyone hopefully is OK.
## Key takeaway

The FAA grounded flights nationwide out of an abundance of caution after a telecommunications issue, stranding thousands of passengers at JFK and cancelling their travel plans.