Developing: US Flights Grounded After Telecom Outage

The US Federal Aviation Administration says a temporary telecommunications outage prompted the nationwide flight halt on Friday, with every flight accounted for and international flights handled individually [1]. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says FAA technicians are investigating [2].

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication yet of an attack, while cautioning that authorities were not ruling anything out, according to Jackson Gosnell’s report of his White House remarks [3]. The underlying cause remains unresolved in these statements.

Timeline: 13 November 2026 — all times UTC

Times below identify the publication of statements or reports; the briefing entries are timed to the reports carrying the remarks.

1. Initial nationwide order

   CNBC reports a nationwide departure halt; flights already airborne continue flying. Axios reports an FAA advisory ordering departing traffic to remain grounded until further notice, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety [4].

2. 21:16 UTC — Duffy statement

   Duffy says a communications issue affects all Air Route Traffic Control Centers and FAA technicians are investigating. These centers manage aircraft flying between airports [2].

3. 22:02 UTC — FAA update

   The FAA describes a temporary telecommunications outage and says the halt is precautionary. Every flight is accounted for; international flights are handled case by case. Its update gives no restart time [1].

4. 22:04 UTC — Mullin briefing reported

   Eric Daugherty shares a clip of Mullin’s White House remarks, reporting that all flights are accounted for and there is no indication yet of a malicious attack [5].

5. 22:06 UTC — Qualification in briefing coverage

   Gosnell reports that Mullin, while saying there is no indication of an attack, cautions that authorities are not ruling anything out. This is a preliminary assessment, not a final finding on the cause [3].

What remains unresolved

Duffy’s post and the FAA update do not identify the failed component or give a restoration deadline [2] [1]. Mullin’s reported qualification leaves the investigation open [3]. A communications outage is the operational problem officials describe; its origin still needs an explanation.

The previous nationwide stop was the January 2023 NOTAM outage. FAA statements from January 11 describe suspending domestic departures after the system supplying safety information to flight crews failed, followed by a gradual restart [6].

Sources: [1] FAA, 22:02 UTC · [2] Sean Duffy, 21:16 UTC · [3] Jackson Gosnell, 22:06 UTC · [4] Axios · [5] Eric Daugherty, briefing clip, 22:04 UTC; all 13 November 2026 · [6] FAA, 11 January 2023.