US air travel thrown into chaos as nationwide flights grounded over 'radar instability'
US air travel thrown into chaos as nationwide flights grounded over 'radar instability' Submitted by MEE staff on Sat, 11/14/2026 - 09:33 The FAA lifted the ground stop after more than four hours, but officials warned that flight disruptions would continue as airlines worked to restore operations A passenger walks past a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport during a nationwide…
Nationwide chaos gripped US air travel on Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a ground stop on departing flights due to radar and communications system instability. Passengers faced stranded status as hundreds of flights were diverted or cancelled, with over 3,500 aircraft in the air when the ground stop was ordered at 3.36pm EST. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that restoring normal operations would be a slow process, urging passengers to check with their airlines for updates.
The disruption began after multiple air traffic control centers reported communication problems with radar systems, making it unsafe to continue normal operations. Despite the FAA lifting the ground stop at 8.15pm EST, officials cautioned that full restoration would take considerable time as airlines worked to reposition aircraft and crews.
The incident followed a global Microsoft outage on Thursday, which affected services including Outlook, Teams, and Copilot, causing disruptions to government operations and businesses worldwide. Public services in Britain were also impacted, with a judge halting a trial in Manchester and police unable to receive crime reports online.
While Microsoft has stated there is no indication the FAA ground stop is related to their outage, officials remain vigilant in ensuring aviation safety.
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