This is a developing story. Last updated Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. CT. The FAA had not announced an end to the ground stop at that time.
TLDR
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop at 2:54 p.m. CT Friday. No flight can take off from any U.S. airport, including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
FlightAware counted 233 delayed flights into or out of Austin by 4 p.m., according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The Texas Longhorns were on their plane in Austin when the order came down. They play at LSU on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The FAA blames a "temporary telecommunications outage." Federal officials say there is no sign of an attack.
No one has said when flights will resume. Expect delays and cancellations into the weekend.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2015. Photo by Joe Mabel, via Wikimedia Commons.
Austin-Bergstrom
Departures at AUS stopped Friday afternoon. Planes already in the air are still allowed to land, so arrivals continue while gates stay occupied by aircraft that cannot leave.
Airport officials said they are monitoring the situation and that "teams are mobilizing to assist our airline partners," the Statesman reported. Spokesman Jim Reynolds told the paper the airport is prepared if the terminal gets congested.
If you are flying out of Austin tonight or Saturday, check with your airline before you leave for the airport.
Texas airports
The order covers every airport in the state, including Dallas Fort Worth International, Dallas Love Field, Houston's George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby, and San Antonio International.
Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Division of Emergency Management is working with federal and local officials. "The State of Texas is prepared to address any unmet needs," he said.
Texas football
No. 6 Texas was sitting on the tarmac in Austin when the stop was announced, CBS Sports reported. The Longhorns play LSU at Tiger Stadium on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC. It is the program's first trip to Baton Rouge since 1953.
The evening kickoff gives Texas more room than most. Tennessee is stuck in Knoxville ahead of a 2 p.m. CT Saturday game at Texas A&M, KBTX reported.
Other teams reported grounded, per Sports Illustrated and USA TODAY Sports: Baylor, Ole Miss, Washington, Kansas State, Tulane, Purdue, San Jose State, Utah and Auburn. Texas Tech landed before the stop. Wake Forest is already in Dallas to play SMU. Alabama switched to buses for its trip to Vanderbilt.
Neither the NCAA nor any conference has said whether Saturday's schedule will change.
What happened nationally
The FAA's command center told all aircraft operators that "all departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice," citing "extraordinary circumstances" and "reasons of safety." Inbound international flights are being handled case by case.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the stop followed "a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers." Those centers direct planes at altitude between airports. The FAA later called it a "temporary telecommunications outage" and said every flight had been accounted for.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was "no indication as of yet" of anything "nefarious." President Trump has been briefed.
About 3,000 aircraft were bound for U.S. airports when the stop began, by CBS News' count. American Airlines, the largest carrier at DFW, said it expects schedule disruption for the rest of the day.
This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when an FAA pilot-alert system failed. That stop lasted about two hours and still delayed more than 10,000 flights, KTVU reported. Before 2023, the last one followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
What to expect
The FAA advisory lists an estimated end time late Friday night, but it also says flights stay grounded until further notice. The stop could lift earlier or be extended.
When the stop lifts, planes and crews will be out of position. Delays and cancellations are likely to carry into Saturday.
Do not go to the airport without confirming your flight with your airline.
Why it matters for Austin
Austin travelers have dealt with repeated FAA ground delays at AUS over the past year, most tied to air traffic controller staffing. Friday's failure is different: one federal communications outage stopped every departure in the country, including a chartered flight carrying a top-10 football team one hour to Louisiana.
