The U.S. has reopened its airspace for flights after a nationwide suspension lasting about four hours due to radar and communication system failures, but the impact is expected to cause continued flight delays for several days.
On 14 Nov 2026, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the nationwide flight suspension order had been lifted after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted all outbound flights for about four hours due to failures in radar and air traffic communication systems. Flights are now allowed to resume, though authorities warn that delays may continue for several days.
Duffy also stated that U.S. airspace is now operational again, noting that air traffic control centers and flight path management systems have returned to normal function, and the airspace was reopened at 20:15 on Friday Eastern U.S. time.
However, he cautioned that restoring system operations does not mean travel will immediately return to normal, as the flight suspension caused widespread disruption with ripple effects expected. Officials are evaluating weekend flight schedules to expedite a return to normal operations.
Duffy detailed the timeline, saying that at 15:36 local time, radar, communication, and air traffic control systems nationwide became unstable after routers handling data became overloaded, causing processing and transmission errors. This prompted the FAA to order the nationwide flight suspension for safety reasons.
The U.S. Transportation Secretary said this incident highlights the outdated nature of the country's air traffic control system and urged Congress to allocate $50 billion to modernize it for efficient and reliable operation.
This event is the largest nationwide flight suspension in the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Previously, flights from Europe to the U.S. were halted at the FAA's request, while some flights to Asia and the Pacific region were still able to depart from certain airports.
Source: CNN