The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has explained the circumstances behind a nationwide disruption to air traffic, which led to a wave of flight cancellations. On Sunday, 15 November 2026, the FAA described a computer and telecommunications failure that affected air traffic control communications and radar data feeds. The crisis began on Friday, 13 November, at 3:30 pm Eastern Time, prompting the FAA to temporarily suspend departures nationwide as a precautionary measure.
The FAA attributed the disruption to instability in an ageing piece of equipment on the FTI network, which became overwhelmed by approximately 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds. This affected 17 of 22 en-route air traffic control centres, spreading to some approach control facilities. The FAA is investigating two sites that may have contributed to the excessive traffic: a radar installation in Amarillo, Texas, and a radio communications site in El Dorado, Arkansas.
The FAA reported that around 12,462 flights were cancelled on Friday, 13 November, including 9,082 by major airlines. However, the agency noted that not all cancellations were directly related to the nationwide disruption. The repercussions continued over the weekend as airlines reorganized their aircraft, crews, and reservations. The system regained sufficient stability to allow operations to resume by 8:15 pm Eastern Time on Friday.
According to the FAA, approximately 3,500 aircraft landed safely during the disruption period, and essential communications were never completely lost. The authority has found no evidence of a cyberattack or external malicious intervention, based on the information examined up to 15 November. As a precautionary measure, the FAA disabled certain features on around 60 similar routers.
The FAA and L3Harris, the network provider, are conducting further analysis to prevent a recurrence of the issue. L3Harris had recently deployed a new router at the El Dorado site, but the FAA emphasized that the definitive technical cause remains to be established, and it would be premature to attribute the outage to a single maintenance operation.
The FAA advised travellers that a stable network does not necessarily mean immediate resumption of normal flight schedules. Passengers are recommended to check directly with their airline and the FAA's official air traffic service for updates on upcoming departures. The authority aims to avoid similar disruptions in the future.
The nationwide disruption highlights the complexities of modern air traffic control systems and the importance of robust infrastructure. The FAA's response and investigation demonstrate efforts to address the issue and prevent future occurrences. Travellers and airlines continue to adapt to the aftermath of the disruption.
Key points
- The FAA cited equipment instability and excessive connections as the cause of the nationwide disruption.
- No evidence of cyberattack or external malicious intervention was found.
- Approximately 12,462 flights were cancelled on Friday, 13 November.
