FAA issues nationwide ground stop due to “extraordinary circumstances,” White House says no indication of “nefarious act”

Updated on: November 13, 2026 / 5:23 PM EST / CBS News

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday issued a rare nationwide ground stop on all departing flights due to "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." The FAA and White House said the issue appeared to be caused by a "telecommunication outage."

"The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a social media post. "FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them."

The Transportation Security Administration is still investigating the root cause, two law enforcement sources told CBS News. One source said the issue has to do with radio frequencies and how pilots talk to one another.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters in a briefing outside the White House that "there was no indication, as of yet, that this was a nefarious act against us. It was just a telecommunication outage, as of right now."

"There is no indication, we had no reason to believe, that as of right now, that this was a threat to the United…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/