FAA Nationwide Ground Stop Halts All U.S.-Bound Flying From Canada

The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded every flight in the United States until further notice, and the order has stopped all U.S.-bound departures from major Canadian airports as of November 13, 2026.

The FAA attributes the shutdown to a temporary telecommunications outage. According to CNN, an FAA spokesperson said there is "a communications problem impacting Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights going across the country." Those centers manage en-route traffic, so the failure freezes long-haul overflights as well as departures and arrivals.

Homeland Security told CNN the outage did not stem from a threat to the United States, and reports indicate it was not a cyberattack. U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed.

Events of this scale are rare. The last comparable nationwide ground stop occurred in January 2023; before that, the previous one dates to September 11, 2001.

How are Canadian airports responding?

Four of Canada's largest hubs have issued public statements as the stoppage ripples through transborder schedules.

• Vancouver International Airport (YVR) said it is seeing delays for U.S.-bound departures and some international flights that would overfly the United States. "Domestic flights within Canada are not impacted," YVR said. The airport's departing-flights board shows a wide range of delayed services.
• Calgary Airport (YYC) confirmed that "all U.S.-bound departures from YYC are currently being held due to the FAA's nationwide ground stop" and directed passengers to their airlines.
• Edmonton International Airport (YEG) posted on X and Facebook: "If you are planning to fly to the US or are picking up a traveller arriving from the US, please check the status of the flight with the carrier before coming to the airport." The airport added that it "continues to monitor the situation closely and is working with our airline partners as they adjust their operations."
• Toronto Pearson is advising customers similarly and reports no scheduled U.S.-bound departures or arrivals at this time.

The common instruction across all four airports is identical: check flight status directly with the carrier before travelling to the terminal.

What does this mean for travel sellers?

The ground stop hits the Canada–U.S. transborder market, one of the largest international air corridors in the world, at the height of a business day. Carriers holding U.S.-bound aircraft face cascading delays on rotations that pair American and Canadian legs, and agencies should expect rebooking volume, schedule waivers and inbound customer queries until the FAA lifts the order. Canada's domestic network, by YVR's account, continues to operate normally.

The Canadian Transportation Agency has been contacted for comment. The duration of the disruption depends entirely on how quickly the FAA restores communications at its route traffic control centers.