NEW YORK, Sunday, November 15, 2026 — Disruption from Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stop carried into a third day at the New York area’s three big airports: John F. Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark Liberty (EWR). Airlines extended their change-fee waivers into next week.
Sunday morning snapshot
As of 9 a.m. Sunday, ABC7 New York counted 66 cancellations and 54 delays across JFK, LaGuardia and Newark combined. Nationwide, FlightAware showed 910 cancellations for Sunday at that point, and the number was still rising. That followed more than 9,000 U.S. cancellations on Friday and more than 6,400 on Saturday.
Fox Weather reported stranded passengers at LaGuardia after Friday’s stop. CBS News listed New York among the areas where delays were still possible on Sunday.
What caused it
The FAA stopped departures nationwide for about four hours on Friday afternoon and evening, November 13, citing a telecommunications outage. Federal officials say a contractor was swapping copper lines for fiber at a remote FAA facility when a router began flooding the network. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said, “We see zero evidence of anything nefarious.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul has called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to resign.
Airline waivers (as reported by ABC7 New York)
| Airline | What’s offered |
|---|---|
| American | Travel alert extended; change fees waived through Wednesday, Nov. 18. American says its planned cancellations for Sunday night and Monday are already made. |
| Delta | Encouraging flexible customers to move to Monday or later. |
| United | Change fees and fare differences waived. |
| United, American, Delta | Change fees waived through Saturday (as reported; exact rules vary by airline). |
| Southwest | Rebooking at no added cost through Monday. |
What it means for non-revs
- Expect full flights out of all three airports into early next week. Waivers that run through Wednesday and beyond let revenue passengers move onto later flights, which eats into open seats on exactly the days you might be trying to fly.
- Pick your airport by airline, not habit. JFK, LGA and EWR serve different hubs and carriers. If one airport’s flights on your carrier are oversold, check whether another New York airport has better loads on a carrier you can ride.
- Allow extra time. Stranded passengers and rebooking lines can mean busier check-in and security areas than usual for a Sunday in November.
- Carry on. With heavy rebooking, checked bags are more likely to go astray.
- Watch for new trouble. The New York area is often the first place system problems show up. Check FAA status at fly.faa.gov before leaving home.
Sources
- ABC7 New York — Flight issues at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark linger into Sunday after nationwide ground stop
- CBS News — Flights expected to return to normal by Sunday night after nationwide ground stop, FAA says. Here’s what to know
- Fox Weather — ‘Full recovery’ expected by Sunday as thousands of flights are impacted after historic nationwide ground stop
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