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FAA Ground Stop Hits Philadelphia After TRACON Outage

By Drooid · Sep 22, 2026, 11:07 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

FAA Ground Stop

The FAA imposed a ground stop at Philadelphia International Airport because of a TRACON equipment outage.
The stop lasted from 21/1523Z to 21/1645Z on September 21, 2026, with a medium-probability extension.
Delays totaled 5,998 minutes, averaging 80 minutes with a maximum of 160 minutes.
More than 20% of flights were delayed or cancelled.
Airlines offered fee-free rebooking waivers through Wednesday for passengers from Philadelphia, Newark and other Northeast airports.

Summary

Trump Flight On-time

President Donald Trump’s Washington-to-New York flight left on time despite the regional outage.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged Congress to fund modernization of aging air-traffic control infrastructure.
Amtrak crews blamed New Jersey Transit crews for cutting the backup fiber line.
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney missed a UN General Assembly side event because of the cancellations.
Pittsburgh International Airport smoothly handled five diverted flights, spokesman Bob Kerlik said.

History

Historical Context

The July 5 2005 FAA New York Center computer crash grounded thousands, echoing the unprecedented September 11 2001 nationwide air-space shutdown ordered by FAA manager Ben Sliney. That 2001 SCATANA closure and the 2003 Northeast blackout, which affected about 55 million people, highlighted aging control and power systems, prompting the FAA’s NextGen modernization. The September 21 2026 Philadelphia TRACON outage shows the same vulnerability, renewing calls for federal funding.

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FAA Ground Stop

The FAA imposed a ground stop at Philadelphia International Airport because of a TRACON equipment outage.
The stop lasted from 21/1523Z to 21/1645Z on September 21, 2026, with a medium-probability extension.
Delays totaled 5,998 minutes, averaging 80 minutes with a maximum of 160 minutes.
More than 20% of flights were delayed or cancelled.
Airlines offered fee-free rebooking waivers through Wednesday for passengers from Philadelphia, Newark and other Northeast airports.

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