US flight takeoffs suspended for four hours following technical failure

A technical failure during fiber optic installation caused a national suspension of all flight takeoffs in the United States for approximately four hours on Friday, November 13, 2026. The suspension ended at 8:15 p.m. EST, following a disruption that affected communications between air traffic controllers and aircraft, as well as the transmission of radar information.

Technical failure and investigation

The incident occurred during maintenance work intended to replace old copper cables with high-speed fiber optics. The failure involved a router that caused a data surge, flooding the network with over 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds. The Federal Aviation Administration identified the faulty device approximately 45 minutes after the first anomalies were detected.

L3Harris, a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration, is currently under investigation for potential human error or the installation of defective equipment. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy stated that the issue was not a cyberattack but a failure of the system or contractor to meet requirements. Sean Duffy added that officials are investigating whether the cause was human error or a defective router from L3Harris.

Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford confirmed that the incident was not a cyberattack and was not related to the SMART artificial intelligence system. Bryan Bedford stated there is zero evidence that the incident is related to AI. The SMART artificial intelligence system is used by the Federal Aviation Administration to assist in managing air traffic and is implemented in 22 control centers.

Impact on flight schedules

The disruption caused significant delays and cancellations across the United States. Approximately 12,000 flights were canceled on Friday. On Saturday, the scale of cancellations remained high, though figures vary by source. FlightAware reported that 5,500 flights were canceled and 6,900 flights were delayed on Saturday. Other reports provided different estimates for Saturday cancellations, including 5,000 from one source, 4,363 from Vilaweb, and 4,100 from Caracol. Some passengers may face potential delay durations of up to 36 hours.

Major airports affected by the suspension include Chicago O'Hare, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, New York John F. Kennedy, New York LaGuardia, and Boston Logan. This event marks the second national takeoff suspension in the United States since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Infrastructure modernization debate

The incident has reignited debate regarding the age and modernization of United States aviation infrastructure. The Department of Transportation has requested $30.1 billion from Congress to modernize air infrastructure, while the Secretary of Transportation has also requested $50 billion from Congress for the same purpose.

Federal Aviation Administration officials expect flight operations to return to full normality by Sunday, November 15, 2026.

Glossary

• L3Harris — L3Harris Technologies, Inc. is an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider. It produces various products including command and control systems, avionics, and electronic systems for government, defense, and commercial sectors.
• Chicago O'Hare — Chicago O'Hare is a major airport affected by the flight suspension. It is located southwest of the Loop in downtown Chicago.
• Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson — Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson is an international airport. It was developed as part of the infrastructure improvements promoted by the Olympic Games.
• New York LaGuardia — New York LaGuardia is an airport that was affected by the flight suspension. It has been served by airlines such as Western in the past.
• Boston Logan — Boston Logan is an international airport. It is one of the major airports affected by the flight suspension.