U.S. air travel is expected to largely return to normal by the end of Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Saturday that “the worst is behind us” after the country experienced its longest nationwide aviation ground stop in 25 years.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the disruption began as contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc. replaced aging copper wiring in the air traffic control network with fiber-optic cable, triggering a system overload.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a press briefing at the Department of Transportation headquarters on Nov. 14, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The briefing came one day after a nationwide communications failure grounded flights across the United States. (Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)
The installation caused “intermittent” communications and radar disruptions, leading officials to halt air traffic nationwide for more than four hours. Duffy said investigators were examining whether contractor “incompetence” or a defective router was responsible.
“Our contractor didn’t meet the moment, or the equipment didn’t meet the moment,” Duffy said.
The nationwide halt was the first since January 2023 , when a critical FAA computer system used to distribute pilot notices failed. It was also the second nationwide aviation shutdown since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, left, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appear at 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 ordered the ground stop Friday afternoon.
Although the order was lifted at 8:15 p.m. ET Friday, the disruption continued to spread through airline schedules. Residual delays affected airport operations and ultimately disrupted roughly 15,000 flights on 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,” Duffy wrote in a weekend post on X.
Duffy urged passengers to contact their airlines directly and check flight status information for the latest updates.
Aircraft sit on the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Nov. 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
“Check those, stay in contact with your airline, visit its website and use online monitoring tools,” Gary Leff, a Texas-based travel industry expert and author of the “View From the Wing” blog, told News Media.