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Reported by us | South Coast

FAA halts departures nationwide, holding flights at Logan and T.F. Green for South Coast travelers

The FAA ordered the stop shortly before 4 p.m. Friday, and The Associated Press reported there was no timeline for restarting flights.

By the SC360 Breaking and Public Safety Desk | Published Nov. 13, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 13, 2026, 6:16 p.m. ET

SOUTH COAST Developing, 6:15 p.m. Nov. 13, 2026.

South Coast travelers flying out of Logan or T.F. Green are stuck on the ground Friday evening after the Federal Aviation Administration halted departing flights at every airport in the country.

The order took effect shortly before 4 p.m. Eastern time, the Rhode Island Current reported, and News9 in Oklahoma City put it at 2:54 p.m. Central time, citing the FAA's advisory. "By order of the Federal Aviation Command Center all airports are ground stopped. All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis," the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center said in its alert, as CBS News quoted it. Planes already in the air were still allowed to land, the Rhode Island Current reported.

Anyone with a flight Friday night out of Boston or Warwick, or anyone planning to pick up an arriving traveler, should check with the airline before heading to the airport. The Associated Press reported there was no timeline for restarting flights.

What the FAA says caused it

The FAA's notice said the stop was ordered "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety," CBS News and The Associated Press reported. In an update to its X account posted at 5:02 p.m., the agency said there had been "a temporary telecommunications outage" and that "out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted," adding that "every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis," according to the Rhode Island Current.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post that the FAA issued the stop "following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers" and that FAA technicians were investigating, CBS News reported. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters outside the White House that there was "no indication, as of yet, that this was a nefarious act against us," and called it a telecommunication outage, CBS News reported. Asked whether it could have been a cyberattack, Mullin said officials were not ruling anything out and that "as of right now, that's not known," ABC7 reported.

Mullin also said officials had not discussed a time frame for fixing the outage. "It's going to take some time," he told reporters at the White House, CNN reported. "And so this isn't going to just be resolved and turned around within the hour."

At Logan

Massport said it was "monitoring the situation and working with the FAA and our airline partners" and told passengers to check with their airlines for the latest flight updates, CBS Boston and NBC Boston reported. Logan's own X account posted that the stop was "impacting flights at Boston Logan and airports across the country." Video from WBZ-TV's SkyEye showed several planes lined up on taxiways and runways at Logan on Friday afternoon, CBS Boston reported.

Gov. Maura Healey posted that she had been briefed on the ground stop and was in touch with Massport "about what it means for people flying in and out of Massachusetts," and that her office was working to get answers from federal officials, NBC Boston reported.

At T.F. Green

"Like every airport in the nation, PVD is impacted by this ground stop. All departures are halted at this time," the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, which runs T.F. Green, said in a statement shortly before 5 p.m., The Providence Journal and the Rhode Island Current reported. The corporation said travelers "should check with their airlines to fully understand impacts and delays," the Journal reported.

The islands and Cape Air

The order also covers the Cape and Islands airports, including Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis, Nantucket Memorial Airport and Martha's Vineyard Airport, CapeCod.com reported. Martha's Vineyard Airport Director Geoff Freeman told The Martha's Vineyard Times that one Cape Air flight and one FedEx flight from the island were grounded by the order, and he called Friday a "very slow day" at the airport.

Cape Air's listing on Explore New Bedford describes its flights from New Bedford Regional Airport to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and anyone booked on a Cape Air flight out of New Bedford should check with the airline at 800-227-3247 before leaving for the airport.

What we do not know yet

The FAA had not announced an end to the stop as of about 6 p.m. Friday, when CNN reported that all flights in the United States remained grounded until further notice, and the agency has not said when departures will resume or how long delays will last once they do. We will update this story when the FAA lifts the stop and as Logan, T.F. Green and Cape Air report on their flights.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

The FAA's own words come from its Air Traffic Control System Command Center alert as CBS News quoted it in full and from the FAA's 5:02 p.m. X post as the Rhode Island Current quoted it, both read Friday evening, Nov. 13, 2026; the start time comes from the Rhode Island Current and from News9, which cited the FAA's advisory. Massport's and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation's statements are each quoted by two newsrooms, credited. The island airports come from CapeCod.com and The Martha's Vineyard Times, and Cape Air's New Bedford routes and phone from its listing on Explore New Bedford. The stop's status was checked again at about 6:10 p.m. against CNN's live page, updated at 6 p.m., which still listed every U.S. flight as grounded. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: the FAA has not said when departures will resume.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (13)

  1. FAA issues nationwide ground stop due to "extraordinary circumstances," White House says no indication of "nefarious act" | CBS NewsUpdated Nov. 13, 2026, 5:23 p.m. EST: the Air Traffic Control System Command Center alert quoted in full, the FAA notice's "extraordinary circumstances" wording, Secretary Duffy's post and Secretary Mullin's remarks. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:55 p.m.
  2. Flights grounded at T.F. Green as FAA halts departures nationwide | Rhode Island Current (republished on Yahoo News)By Alexander Castro, Nov. 13, 2026, 5:18 p.m. EST: order came shortly before 4 p.m.; the FAA's X post updated at 5:02 p.m.; Rhode Island Airport Corporation statement. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:57 p.m.
  3. T.F. Green departures halted as FAA grounds flights across nation | The Providence Journal (republished on Yahoo News)By Paul Edward Parker, updated Nov. 13, 2026, 5:03 p.m. EST: the Rhode Island Airport Corporation release texted to the Journal shortly before 5 p.m. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:57 p.m.
  4. FAA orders nationwide ground stop until 10 p.m. following communication issue | News9By Cassidy Mudd, published Nov. 13, 2026, 3:46 p.m. CST: the advisory's 2:54 p.m. Central start time (its 10 p.m. Central end estimate is credited in its own summary to an aviation monitoring account, so the story does not use it). Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:56 p.m.
  5. Flights halted across US, including Logan, due to communications problems, FAA says | Boston.com (The Associated Press)Updated Nov. 13, 2026, 5:36 p.m.: no timeline for restarting flights; the FAA notice's wording; Boston Logan's X post. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:55 p.m.
  6. Flights at Logan Airport in Boston impacted by nationwide ground stop | CBS BostonUpdated Nov. 13, 2026, 5:51 p.m. EST: Massport statement; WBZ-TV SkyEye video of planes lined up at Logan. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:56 p.m.
  7. Boston Logan airport flight impacts Friday for FAA ground stop | NBC BostonBy Asher Klein, Nov. 13, 2026: Logan and Massport statement; Gov. Healey's post. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:57 p.m.
  8. FAA orders nationwide ground stop, affecting flights across U.S. and Cape Cod region | CapeCod.comNov. 13, 2026: the order covers Cape Cod Gateway, Nantucket Memorial and Martha's Vineyard airports. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:57 p.m.
  9. MVY hit by nationwide flight grounding | The Martha's Vineyard TimesBy Eunki Seonwoo, Nov. 13, 2026, 5:09 p.m., updated 5:29 p.m.: Airport Director Geoff Freeman on the grounded Cape Air and FedEx flights. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 5:57 p.m.
  10. Cape Air | Explore New BedfordExplore New Bedford listing: Cape Air flies from New Bedford Regional Airport, 1569 Airport Road, to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket; phone 800-227-3247. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 6 p.m.
  11. Live updates: FAA issues nationwide ground stop for all flights | CNNLive page, updates through 6:00 p.m. ET Nov. 13, 2026: all U.S. flights grounded until further notice; Secretary Mullin's remarks on the time frame. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 6:10 p.m.
  12. FAA ground stop live updates | ABC7 San FranciscoLive page, Nov. 13, 2026: Secretary Mullin, asked about a cyberattack, said officials were not ruling anything out. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 6:10 p.m.
  13. FAA National Airspace System Status, airport status feedThe FAA's own feed, read at 5:49 and 5:55 p.m. EST Nov. 13, 2026: lists airport programs only (a Boston ground delay program for airport volume set at 11:31 a.m., before the national stop); the national stop is not listed there as an airport program, so the story does not rely on it. Read Nov. 13, 2026.

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