Key Notes
- The FAA lifted its nationwide ground stop at 8:15 pm Eastern time on November 13, after more than four hours.
- By 11:07 am Eastern time on November 14, FlightAware listed 4,094 Saturday cancellations and 3,019 delays on US-related flights.
- Duffy said the outage followed updates to an older L3Harris-managed system; American and United have rebooking waivers for eligible trips.
Flights across the United States have resumed after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted Friday’s nationwide ground stop, but the recovery is stretching through the weekend. More than 4,000 US-related flights had been canceled on Saturday morning as airlines worked to restore disrupted schedules.
Duffy Points to Updates to an Older Communications System
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Saturday that the shutdown followed updates to an older communications system managed by L3Harris. The account adds detail to the explanation he gave on Friday, when he described older switches and routers becoming overloaded with data and supplying inconsistent information.
In the Department of Transportation’s briefing summary, Duffy said newer IP switches had remained operational. The FAA’s ground stop was a safety response to instability in communications and radar information, rather than a complete loss of every telecommunications link or radar system.
Duffy also rejected a connection to the agency’s AI-supported SMART planning tool. Our SMART explainer sets out the rollout timeline, the tool’s role and the distinction between officials’ statements and a completed technical root-cause investigation.
More Than 4,000 Saturday Flights Canceled
FlightAware’s Saturday figures, checked at 11:07 a.m. Eastern time on November 14, showed 4,094 cancellations and 3,019 delays for flights within, into or out of the United States. That was an increase from the 3,770 cancellations and 1,991 delays recorded at 9:26 a.m.
Friday’s US-related tally had already reached 9,162 cancellations and 7,324 delays when checked at 9:07 a.m. on Saturday. These are daily flight-tracking totals, rather than a count of flights individually confirmed to have been disrupted by the FAA outage; weather also contributed to some disruptions.
The nationwide restriction lasted more than four hours. Duffy said departures were cleared to resume at 8:15 p.m. Eastern time on November 13, or 01:15 UTC on November 14, following the departure halt we reported on Friday. Restarting the network still requires airlines to get aircraft and available crews into the right positions.
American and United Offer Rebooking Waivers
For passengers with disrupted plans, the airlines’ current waivers offer a way to move eligible trips. The conditions differ by carrier:
- American Airlines: Its travel alert covers eligible flights to, from or through listed airports on November 13–14, for tickets bought by November 12. The notice allows eligible travel on November 13–17 and says changes must be booked by November 14. Keep the same origin and destination, and check the cabin and fare conditions before confirming a change.
- United Airlines: Its travel waiver covers eligible original travel on November 13–15, for tickets issued by November 12. The published flight options waive change fees and fare differences for new United departures on November 12–20, in the same cabin and between the same cities. Different dates or destinations can carry a fare difference.
United says it has resumed operations but expects residual effects from Friday’s stop through the weekend. Passengers should use their own booking to confirm whether a waiver applies and which replacement flights have seats available.
Check Every Leg Before Leaving for the Airport
The end of the nationwide stop does not guarantee that a particular flight will operate. Check the operating airline’s app, confirm onward connections and keep notifications enabled for schedule changes. If you booked through an agency, check who is handling the rebooking before buying a replacement ticket.
The FAA’s status dashboard provides broader airport and airspace information. For the status of a specific flight or the conditions attached to an offered change, use the airline’s current flight information and waiver notice.
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