Nationwide Ground Stop Disrupts Travel and Important Milestones

A communications-system outage brought air travel to a halt across the country on November 13, leaving passengers scrambling to rebook flights and locate luggage. The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the ground stop at about 8:15 p.m., but cancellations and delays continued at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and other airports through November 14.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the outage to an overload in an older analog system. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the public was not in danger. Detroit Metro advised passengers to confirm their flight details directly with their airline as operations returned to normal.

The disruption threatened plans tied to major personal events. Brea, who was in Michigan for work, was trying to get home to Houston for her mother’s wedding, where she was due to be maid of honor. She said she was rebooking and hoped to arrive in time.

The Goel family had booked travel to Philadelphia months ahead for a brother-in-law’s 50th birthday party. They said the celebration was scheduled for the next day and that they wanted to be there.

At Detroit Metro, passengers also faced long lines at baggage services. Wendy Jean-Louis said her jacket was in a missing bag and that she might have to replace her belongings. Other travelers described cancelled flights and uncertainty about reaching cruises, performances and other plans, as the backlog continued after planes began flying again.