The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon due to Air Traffic Control communication issues.
The FAA ordered all US airports to ground stop. No flights may depart, and flights already in the air will be allowed to land.
The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026
DHS Chief Markwayne Mullin held a gaggle and told reporters that there was a ‘telecommunications outage throughout the FAA.’
Mullin also assured the public that all midair flights are safe.
“There is no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack,” Mullin said as he assured that every flight has been accounted for.
“There is no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying or anything like that, I just wanted to make sure everybody is at ease about that,” Mullin said.
WATCH:
“There is no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying or anything like that, I just wanted to make sure everybody is at ease about that.” @SecMullinDHS https://t.co/Wz3iXNhwZw
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 13, 2026
A reporter asked Mullin if the ground stop is related to the rollout of a new AI traffic control system.
“There are reports that the FAA was rolling out a new A.I. traffic control system today. Has there been any link between that?” a reporter asked Mullin.
Secretary Mullin responded: “We’re looking at that. That’s part of something that obviously, through CISA at DHS, we are we’re taking a look.”
WATCH:
REPORTER: “There are reports that the FAA was rolling out a new A.I. traffic control system today. Has there been any link between that?”
SEC. MULLIN: “We’re looking at that. That’s part of something that obviously, through CISA at DHS, we are we’re taking a look.” https://t.co/E5Cp5FrUZa
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 13, 2026
Later Friday, the developer of the FAA’s Smart AI rollout system said the ground stop is not based on its SMART system.
“The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC,” Air Space Intelligence said in a statement posted to X.
The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC.
— ASI (@AirSpaceIntel) November 13, 2026
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