DALLAS, Nov. 15, 2026 — Southwest Airlines is still working through the fallout from Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stop. It had canceled 540 Saturday flights by 2:48 p.m. ET, per FlightAware figures cited by Yahoo News, and 177 Sunday flights as of 8:04 a.m. ET, per Men’s Journal. Its travel advisory lets affected customers rebook or fly standby at no extra cost.
What happened
The FAA halted departures nationwide on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 13, after a communications failure hit multiple air route traffic control centers. The stop began at about 3:53 p.m. ET and was lifted at about 8:15 p.m. ET. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the outage started during contractor L3Harris’s work moving lines from copper to fiber at a remote FAA site; officials said there was no evidence of a cyberattack. FAA Administrator Bedford said many crews and aircraft ended Friday out of position, which drove the weekend cancellations, and that airlines expect full schedules again by the close of business Sunday.
Southwest cautioned that delays and cancellations could continue as it recovers, according to The Bulkhead Seat and Newsweek.
The advisory
- Covers reservations for travel from Friday, Nov. 13 through Monday, Nov. 16 (per Newsweek, Nov. 15).
- Customers can rebook, or fly standby, within five days of the original departure date between the same cities, with no fare difference. For a Nov. 16 trip, that window runs to Nov. 21.
- For canceled or significantly delayed flights, customers can get a refund on the unused portion, including non-refundable fares and certain optional charges.
| Day | Southwest cancellations | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | 540 | 2:48 p.m. ET | FlightAware via Yahoo News |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | 177 | 8:04 a.m. ET | FlightAware via Men’s Journal |
What it means for non-revs
- This one matters directly: Passrider notes that paying customers covered by the advisory can stand by for free, and they clear ahead of non-revs. Expect longer standby lists on Southwest through about Nov. 21.
- Monday, Nov. 16 is still inside the advisory, so do not expect loads to loosen until later in the week.
- If you must travel, list on the earliest flight in your market and watch the standby list position, not just open seats.
- Thanksgiving week follows right after, so plan leisure trips on Southwest for after the holiday if you can.
Sources
- Yahoo News, “FAA ground stop latest updates: Saturday cancellations top 6,000; controllers’ union chief says communications with some planes were disrupted; Duffy blames L3Harris” — https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/live/faa-ground-stop-latest-updates-duffy-blames-contractor-l3harris-thousands-more-flights-canceled-saturday-no-sign-of-cyberattack-161329174.html
- Men’s Journal, “FAA Outage Cancellations Top 15,000 as JetBlue Cuts More Than a Quarter of Its Sunday Flights” — https://www.mensjournal.com/news/faa-ground-stop-sunday-cancellations-crowdstrike
- Newsweek, “FAA Ground Stop: Latest Airline Advice As More Than 1,000 Flights Canceled” — https://www.newsweek.com/faa-ground-stop-flight-cancellations-update-airline-advice-12717253
- Passrider, “FAA Ground Stop: Every Airline Travel Waiver, And What Non-Revs Should Do Now” — https://www.passrider.com/faa-ground-stop-airline-travel-waivers/
- The Bulkhead Seat, “Thousands of Flights Canceled as Airlines Struggle to Recover From FAA Ground Stop” — https://thebulkheadseat.com/thousands-of-flights-canceled-as-airlines-struggle-to-recover-from-faa-ground-stop/
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