Weather news
Passenger planes over lower 48 drop from 2,229 to 778 after Friday FAA ground stop
By Ryan Hall, Y'all Weather Desk ยท Published
Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data.
Key points
- Where: Every airport in the country. The FAA advisory says all airports are ground stopped.
- When: The stop began at 3:53 PM ET Friday, Nov. 13, and was still active at 5:10 PM ET.
- What: Our count of passenger planes over the lower 48 dropped from 2,229 to 778, roughly two-thirds fewer.
- Why: The FAA says it is a telecom outage. It is not weather.
- What it means: Departures remain held until the ground stop ends.
The number of passenger planes flying over the lower 48 fell from 2,229 at 3:50 PM ET Friday to 778 at 5:08 PM ET. The FAA stopped every departure nationwide at 3:53 PM ET, and the agency says the cause is a telecom outage. The ground stop was still in place as of 5:10 PM ET, and we have no end time to give you.
The sky emptied in about an hour and a quarter
We counted this ourselves. Using FlightRadar24 positions, we counted passenger planes between 100 and 60,000 feet over lower-48 land, checking every 5 minutes from 3:50 to 4:55 PM ET and again at 5:08 PM ET.
The count was 2,229 at 3:50 PM ET, three minutes before the stop. It was 778 at 5:08 PM ET.
A ground stop does not pull planes already airborne out of the sky. With departures held, the number falls as airborne planes land instead of dropping all at once. The planes still up at 5:08 PM ET included flights that were already airborne when the stop began, and we are still watching that number.
The ground stop was still in place at 5:10 PM ET, and we have no confirmed end time.
This is not a weather problem
No severe storms are expected anywhere in the lower 48 today. The outage is a communications failure, not a storm.
A few spots do have real weather that can slow travel on its own, separate from the outage:
- Lake Tahoe: A Winter Storm Warning runs until 10 AM PST Saturday. Heavy wet snow could reach up to 20 inches along the crest west of the lake. Gusts of 70 to 90 mph are possible over ridges.
- Northern California: Flood advisories are up around the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento area. A cold front is bringing scattered storms and heavy rain, with a Level 1 of 4 (Marginal) flash flood risk today.
- Northern Michigan: A Winter Weather Advisory for lake-effect snow in Grand Traverse County runs until 7 AM EST Saturday. Another 1 to 3 inches of snow is possible.
Check every active warning if your route crosses any of those areas.
What to do
- Flying tonight: Check your flight in your airline's app before you head to the airport. The ground stop applies to departures, so a flight that has not left yet is the one most likely to be held.
- Picking someone up: Track the flight number instead of guessing the arrival time.
- Connecting flights: If your first leg is delayed, look at your connection now and consider rebooking in the app.
- Driving instead: Look at our interstate driving outlook before you swap a flight for a road trip.
- Watching the delays: Our airport delay outlook is the place to see how this lines up with weather. You can also sign up for free Y'all Alerts.
Bottom line
The FAA stopped every departure at 3:53 PM ET Friday, and the number of passenger planes over the lower 48 fell from 2,229 to 778 by 5:08 PM ET. The cause is a telecom outage, not weather, and the ground stop was still on as of 5:10 PM ET, so check your flight before you go anywhere.
Explained: Winter Storm Watch vs. Warning vs. Winter Weather Advisory: What Each Means