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The U.S. air travel schedule should return to normal by the end of Sunday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford declared Saturday that “the worst is behind us” after the U.S. saw its longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years this weekend.
Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy says the situation arose when contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc. was replacing old copper wiring in the air traffic control system with new fiber wiring, causing a system overload.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a press briefing at Department of Transportation headquarters on Nov. 14, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The briefing followed a nationwide communications outage that grounded flights across the United States the previous day. (Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)
The work led to “intermittent” communications and radar gaps, prompting the government to shut down air traffic for more than four hours. Officials were investigating whether contractor “incompetence” or a faulty router was the cause,” he said.
“Our contractor didn’t meet the moment or the equipment didn’t meet the moment,” Duffy said.
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The nationwide stop was the first since January 2023 , when a key FAA computer system that sends notices to pilots malfunctioned, and the second since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, left, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appear during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Nov. 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The FAA issued the ground stop order on Friday afternoon.
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The ground stop was lifted at 8:15 p.m. ET Friday, but the ripple effect felt by airline crews and passengers lasted with residual delays continuing to affect airport operations, ultimately impacting some 15,000 flights Friday and Saturday.
“You will continue to see some delays and cancellations as carriers reschedule flights and reposition aircraft/crews where they are needed most,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a post on X this weekend.
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Travelers should continue to check their flight status directly with their airlines for real-time updates, he noted.
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. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
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“Check those, be in touch with your airline, check their websites, look at online monitoring tools,” Gary Leff, a Texas-based travel industry expert and author of the blog “View From the Wing,” told Digital.
‘ Sadie Chafe and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
