The FAA ordered Flights being grounded nationwide after posting ground stops at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport because of an equipment outage. The agency said the action applied to all departing flights until further notice, while inbound flights were to be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Those airport ground stops appeared first on the Federal Aviation Administration's National Airspace System Status website. The Air Traffic Control System Command Center said there were "comms issues," and the FAA later widened the response to include every airport nationwide.
Chicago O'Hare and Midway
The first posted ground stops centered on Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. The airport actions came after an equipment outage, but the cause of that outage was not immediately explained in the available report.
For travelers, the practical effect was immediate: departures stopped, while arrivals were handled one flight at a time. That leaves airline operations and passenger movement dependent on individual decisions rather than a uniform clearance to continue.
FAA safety order
The FAA said the nationwide ground stop was for "extraordinary circumstances" and "for reasons of safety." That language matters because it marks a broader operational response than a single-airport delay and puts the entire departing network on hold until the agency gives a further signal.
The report added that no further details were immediately available. CBS News Chicago said it had reached out to the Chicago Department of Aviation and both airports for more information and was waiting to hear back.
November 13, 2026 report
CBS News Chicago updated its report on November 13, 2026 at 3:19 PM CST. For anyone still trying to move through Chicago, the key point is simple: departures were stopped, inbound flights were being reviewed individually, and the FAA had not said when the ground stop would end.
