DEVELOPING | FAA Network Update Crashes Systems Across 22 Air Traffic Control Centers

WASHINGTON — An update to a private communications network that connects the U.S. air traffic control system caused the system to reboot and crash Friday, triggering a nationwide communications outage, multiple sources told CBS News.

The outage led the Federal Aviation Administration to halt departures at airports across the country, a rare nationwide ground stop that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said affected all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers. CBS News said the network is operated by L3Harris, which did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment. The FAA and the Department of Transportation have not confirmed the reported update or the vendor. Officials have described the disruption as a telecommunications outage.

Separately, Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that the FBI was examining whether a software update caused the failure and did not believe it was a cyberattack or a criminal act.

The Air Current reported that the FAA’s command center in Washington learned around 3:30 p.m. Eastern that multiple centers had lost radio communications, frequencies and radar. The problems began at the Chicago center, the outlet said, and Boston, Washington, New York and Minneapolis reported similar failures in rapid succession. An airline source told The Air Current on Friday evening that multiple air traffic control frequencies remained down and that the FAA had begun releasing some international flights to Europe case by case.

In an advisory issued at 5:46 p.m. Eastern, the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center said the nationwide ground stop remained in effect but that flights would be allowed to depart as en route facilities recover, through coordination with the command center. The advisory listed the stop through 11 p.m. Eastern, with an update expected then. As of 7 p.m. Eastern, the FAA’s public status page still showed a ground stop for all airports, citing an equipment outage.

Earlier FAA advisories warned operators to expect airborne holding at airports across the National Airspace System because of equipment outages and said the command center had extended flight-plan drop times to 240 minutes for all en route centers because of the nationwide communications failure.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, speaking to reporters outside the White House, called the problem “just a telecommunications outage” and said it was “too early to tell” how long it would last. He said there was no indication yet of a “nefarious act,” a message echoed by the White House. Mullin said all flights were accounted for and that aircraft already in the air would be landed safely.

About 11,000 flights were scheduled to depart U.S. airports after 4 p.m. Eastern, according to the aviation data firm Cirium, which was cited by CNBC. By early Friday evening, FlightAware listed more than 10,000 delays and more than 2,000 cancellations, CBS News reported.

The Fostoria Free Press first reported the ground stop Friday afternoon. Travelers should check directly with their airline for the status of individual flights. The last comparable nationwide pause in departures came in January 2023, when an FAA system used to alert pilots failed.

Featured image: Illustration by The Fostoria Free Press (AI-generated). This is not a photograph of Friday’s ground stop.

Sources:
CBS News, Kierra Frazier and Faris Tanyos, “FAA issues nationwide ground stop due to ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ White House says no indication of ‘nefarious act,’” updated 6:52 p.m. EST Nov. 13, 2026: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faa-issues-nationwide-ground-stop/
Bloomberg, Myles Miller, as published by Bloomberg Línea, “FBI investiga si una actualización de software causó la falla que afectó al tráfico aéreo en EE.UU.,” 5:48 p.m. Nov. 13, 2026: https://www.bloomberglinea.com/mundo/estados-unidos/fbi-investiga-si-una-actualizacion-de-software-causo-la-falla-que-afecto-al-trafico-aereo-en-eeuu/
The Air Current, Jon Ostrower, Elan Head, Julie Johnsson and Carter Johnston, “U.S. halts flight departures nationwide on air traffic communications outage,” Nov. 13, 2026: https://theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatches/u-s-halts-flight-departures-nationwide-on-air-traffic-communications-outage/
FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center, advisory 120, signed 5:46 p.m. Eastern Nov. 13, 2026: https://www.fly.faa.gov/ois/oisedit/adv_oisedit_dis?day=11132026&number=120
FAA ATCSCC advisory 116, nationwide airborne holding, signed 4:20 p.m. Eastern Nov. 13, 2026: https://www.fly.faa.gov/ois/oisedit/adv_oisedit_dis?day=11132026&number=116
FAA ATCSCC advisory 117, extended flight-plan drop times of 240 minutes for all en route centers, signed 4:21 p.m. Eastern Nov. 13, 2026: https://www.fly.faa.gov/ois/oisedit/adv_oisedit_dis?day=11132026&number=117
FAA National Airspace System status summary, as of 7:01 p.m. Eastern Nov. 13, 2026: https://www.fly.faa.gov/ois/oisedit/summary_pub
CNBC, Leslie Josephs, “FAA grounds departing flights nationwide, citing air traffic communication system outage,” updated Nov. 13, 2026: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/13/faa-ground-stop.html
The Fostoria Free Press, earlier coverage, “Nationwide Ground Stop: All 22 Regional ATC Centers Hit With Communication Failure,” Nov. 13, 2026: https://thefostoriafreepress.com/nationwide-ground-stop-air-traffic-control-communication-failure/