“You can just write down the comic book asterisk swearing characters,” said Virginia.But Mr. Buttigieg.
A nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop halted air traffic across the United States for roughly four hours on Friday, November 13, 2026. The stoppage disrupted thousands of flights and stranded prominent political figures in Denver, Colorado, where Democrats had gathered for a post-midterm conference. FlightAware data showed that at least 8,200 flights were delayed and nearly 7,500 were canceled during the chaos, with additional disruptions spilling into Saturday.
The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U. S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.
Nationwide Flight Stoppage Causes Political Frustration in Denver
The ground stop marked only the second nationwide flight stoppage in the United States since the September 11 attacks in 2001, following a similar 90-minute pause in January 2023. Stranded politicians at a downtown Denver hotel bar voiced frustration over federal communication during the crisis.
Anne Caprara, chief of staff to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, described the scene as “Denver’s hottest bar, the Mos Eisley Cantina of politics,” adding that it carried “With ‘Veep’ characters and a ‘Terminator 2’ vibe,” according to reporting by The New York Times.
No one’s hands are clean here. However, Mr. Secretary Buttigieg, you had four years in the job and infrastructure money, yet made zero progress modernizing the FAA. You left a failing system in place. THANKS!
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was among those stuck in Denver for the Majority Democrats’ “What’s Next” conference, joked to attendees that he would be available in the hotel bar to help people rebook flights or secure refunds. At a table near Mr. Buttigieg sat Governor Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Governor Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, and Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who munched on Parmesan fries and checked their phones while waiting for updates.
To his right, Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia scanned Senate group chats on secure channels alongside Senator Mark Warner of Virginia. Meanwhile, liberal Congressman Ted Lieu told the Los Angeles Times that the incident was enormously damaging to trust in the national economy, while Ro Khanna criticized officials for a lack of transparency prior to the White House press briefing.
Data Overload on Routing Equipment Caused System Shutdown
During a White House press briefing on Friday evening, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin addressed the crisis after the airspace reopened at approximately 8:15 p.m. Duffy explained that the stoppage stemmed from a data overload on routing equipment. “Our switches, our routers, actually got overloaded with data,” Duffy said, as reported by The Hill.
“They started to give us inconsistency in the data from those … routers. And because of that, we shut the system down.” According to Duffy, the instability in radar communications at air traffic control centers began at 3:36 p.m., leaving more than 3,500 airplanes in the air when the ground stop was issued.
The Air Traffic Control System Command Center formally announced the immediate halting of United States flights at 3:54 p.m. due to extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons.
Both officials ruled out cyberattacks or artificial intelligence malfunctions as the root cause. However, Duffy stressed that the technology was entirely disconnected from the incident. “This is completely disconnected, and I love that some people have said this would be the root cause. By the way, if it was, I’ll tell you that, but this is not even plugged in,” Duffy said.
Air Space Intelligence, the company behind the SMART system, also denied any connection in a 5:34 p.m. EST post on X, confirming the stoppage was not based on or a result of their product.
Federal Officials Request Funding to Overhaul Aviation Infrastructure
In the wake of the failure, federal officials renewed calls to upgrade aging aviation infrastructure. Duffy urged Congress to provide $50 billion to overhaul what he termed an outdated air control apparatus, following an earlier September request for $30 billion to fund control towers and airport improvements. Mullin supported the request, stating, “It has to be a complete overhaul of the system.”
WME and TKO executive Ari Emanuel targeted the previous administration on social platform X, writing, “No one’s hands are clean here.” “However, Mr. Secretary Buttigieg, you had four years in the job and infrastructure money, yet made zero progress modernizing the FAA.” “You left a failing system in place.” Emanuel specifically called out Buttigieg for making zero progress during his tenure despite the Trump administration nominating Duffy to the role in 2024, prompting thousands of replies from commenters questioning his remarks.
