Austin, Texas – Following a rare nationwide ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday, November 13, 2026, operations resumed at 7:15 p.m. However, travelers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) continued to grapple with significant delays and cancellations.
The ground stop was triggered by communication failures affecting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers across the United States. During a press briefing, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pointed to the aging infrastructure as a primary cause, noting that outdated analog systems and routers became overwhelmed with data.
The timing of the disruption, occurring on Friday the 13th and shortly after a major Microsoft Outlook outage, led to speculation among travelers about a potential link between the two incidents. However, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin clarified in an evening press conference that there was no evidence suggesting a cyberattack, although officials did not completely rule it out.
The sudden halt left numerous passengers stranded, including individuals eager to attend significant events such as a 75th birthday celebration and a concert for a 16th birthday. Many travelers reported difficulty obtaining accurate information within the terminal as communication channels were down.
“We are not going back to Korea today,” said Leonardo Manreque, an international traveler from South Korea. “We hope that maybe tomorrow, or we don’t know when, because the flights are delayed. Before coming here to the airport, we already knew that the flight was delayed, but only for one hour, and right now we have no information.”
Others arriving at the airport found sections completely closed, with minimal assistance from airline or airport staff. “We talked to a lady over here, and she basically just said the whole section with all the restaurants and the gates is just completely closed,” shared Clara Kountoupis, who was flying for her birthday. “We don’t know what to do with our check-in bags either.”
For passengers already on board their flights, the uncertainty continued as pilots provided little more than empty updates. Petrina Parker, who was on her way to a birthday celebration, recounted how her pilot would check in every 15 minutes only to report there was still no new information. “About an hour and 45 minutes later, we went back to the gates, and then we all had to get off the plane,” she explained. “It was just pretty much all these people in the airport just not knowing what to do.”
While airspace re-opened at 7:15 p.m., officials cautioned that it would take time to restore normal operations. Airlines are currently assessing their capacity and crew availability to manage the backlog, with a focus on larger aircraft that can carry more passengers.
To mitigate the risk of similar disruptions in the future, Secretary Duffy announced a request for $50 billion from Congress to develop a state-of-the-art facility. This investment aims to replace outdated equipment with modern software, hardware, and air traffic control towers.
