Prime Rogue Inc, a holdings company
Prime Rogue · Live

US ground stop: what it means for Canada, live

Live By Kevin J.S. Duska Jr., Prime Rogue · Analysis · Started · Last updated

What flight trackers showed at Canadian airports

Prime Rogue captured Flightradar24 at Canadian airports during the stop. These are single frames from the free tier, which shows only the last hour or two and may miss aircraft. They show what was visible, not why, and none of it has been checked against airline, airport or NAV CANADA data.

Observed

Flightradar24 map of North America showing dense air traffic over the United States and southern Canada at 4:49 p.m. ET
North America, 4:49 p.m. ET, about 55 minutes into the stop. Traffic is still dense. A ground stop holds departures; aircraft already in the air keep flying, so this is expected and is not a sign the stop was lifted or ignored. Screenshot: Flightradar24 (free tier), captured by Prime Rogue.
Flightradar24 view of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and the Greater Toronto Area at 6:12 p.m. ET
Billy Bishop Toronto City (YTZ), 6:12 p.m. ET. Four aircraft landed in the previous hour: three Air Canada and Porter Dash 8-400s and one helicopter. The frame does not show where they came from, so it neither confirms nor contradicts the airport's notice that Air Canada and Porter cancelled all remaining US flights. Screenshot: Flightradar24 (free tier), captured by Prime Rogue.
Flightradar24 on-ground list and map for Montréal-Trudeau airport at 6:01 p.m. ET
Montréal-Trudeau (YUL), 6:01 p.m. ET. Nineteen aircraft landed in the hour before about 6 p.m., mostly Air Canada and regional flights, plus Turkish Airlines, KLM and Air Transat. The list shows arrivals still on the ground, not US-bound departures held at the gate. Screenshot: Flightradar24 (free tier), captured by Prime Rogue.
Flightradar24 map of central Nova Scotia around Halifax Stanfield at 7:02 p.m. Atlantic time
Halifax Stanfield (YHZ), 7:02 p.m. AT (6:02 p.m. ET). Flightradar24 listed no aircraft that had landed in the past hour and were still on the ground. That is not the same as an empty airport, and nothing here shows transatlantic diversions to Halifax. The airport says impacts are "currently minimal" (6:30 p.m. update). Screenshot: Flightradar24 (free tier), captured by Prime Rogue.

Unknown

  • How many US-bound departures are being held or cancelled at each Canadian airport. That would show on departure boards, which these frames do not capture; we have asked each airport.

FAA sends its standing statement; still says "multiple" centres

Confirmed

  • FAA reply to Prime Rogue: the FAA answered our request for comment with its standing statement, labelled "preliminary and subject to change." It says the stop followed "communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers" and that "FAA technicians are investigating the issue." It answered none of our questions, including what failed, which centres lost communications, and whether interference or a cyber intrusion has been ruled out.
  • "Multiple" or "all": the statement says "multiple" centres but links Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's post, which says the issue affected "all" Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The FAA has not said which is correct.
  • The emailed statement does not use the "temporary telecommunications outage" wording from the FAA's later post on X, reported in the 6:15 p.m. update.

Our requests for comment

  • FAA: standing statement only; follow-up pending.
  • No reply yet: US DOT, Canadian NORAD Region, National Defence, YUL, YQB, YYC, CDG.

All other responses are as listed at 6:30 p.m.

Unknown

  • What failed, where, and whether the fault is in FAA equipment or a contracted telecommunications service.

Halifax Stanfield says impacts are "currently minimal"; Calgary airport asked

Confirmed

  • Halifax Stanfield (YHZ): the Halifax International Airport Authority told Prime Rogue on the record at 6:21 p.m. ET that "impacts on Halifax Stanfield are currently minimal, but delays and cancellations may occur as the situation evolves." It advised passengers headed to the US to confirm their flight status with their airline before going to the airport. We have asked whether the Air Canada and Porter cancellations announced at Billy Bishop also apply at Halifax.

Our requests for comment

Prime Rogue has now asked 14 organizations for comment, adding Calgary International Airport (YYC) at 6:09 p.m. ET. Our sister outlet OSINT YYC is covering the Calgary angle in more detail; a link will be added here. The Québec City request went through the airport's web form.

  • Halifax Stanfield: replied (above); follow-up pending.
  • No reply yet: FAA, US DOT, Canadian NORAD Region, National Defence, YUL, YQB, YYC, CDG.

Unknown

  • Whether the Air Canada and Porter cancellations apply beyond Billy Bishop.

Billy Bishop says Air Canada and Porter have cancelled remaining US flights; Canadian agencies point elsewhere

Confirmed

  • Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ): a notice on the airport's media centre page, dated November 13 at 4:50 p.m., says Air Canada and Porter "have cancelled all remaining U.S.-inbound and outbound flights for Friday, November 13." The Toronto Port Authority repeated this to Prime Rogue on the record. The notice does not say whether this applies only at Billy Bishop or across each airline's network; we have asked.
  • NAV CANADA told Prime Rogue its "systems are operating normally, and there is currently no impact to NAV CANADA operations," and that it is supporting traffic in its airspace "including any aircraft that may be diverted." That wording does not confirm any diversions. It referred questions about the ground stop's scope to the FAA.
  • Weather radar is not down: the National Weather Service said on X at about 6:15 p.m. ET that "there is no radar outage" and that NWS radars "are operating normally," blaming "outdated content from isolated webpages." That covers NWS weather radar only, not FAA air traffic control radar, which is a separate system.
  • Transport Canada referred Prime Rogue's questions to NAV CANADA. Those questions were about the Minister and the department: when the Minister was briefed, whether the US has given Canada a cause, and whether any directive has gone to carriers or airports.

Our requests for comment

Prime Rogue has asked 13 organizations for comment, with a 9 p.m. ET deadline: the FAA, US DOT, CISA, NORAD/USNORTHCOM, the Canadian NORAD Region, National Defence, Transport Canada, NAV CANADA, and the airports at Montréal (YUL), Billy Bishop (YTZ), Halifax (YHZ), Québec City (YQB) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. This replaces the list in the 6:15 p.m. update.

  • CISA: referred to the FAA.
  • NORAD / US Northern Command: referred to the FAA.
  • NAV CANADA: systems normal; scope questions referred to the FAA; follow-up questions pending.
  • Transport Canada: referred to NAV CANADA; follow-up pending.
  • Billy Bishop (Toronto Port Authority): repeated its public notice of the Air Canada and Porter cancellations.
  • No reply yet: FAA, US DOT, Canadian NORAD Region, National Defence, YUL, YHZ, YQB, CDG.

None of the referrals is a denial.

Unknown

  • Whether the Air Canada and Porter cancellations apply only at Billy Bishop or network-wide. We have asked the airport; Air Canada and Porter have not yet been asked directly.
  • When Canadian officials were notified, and what, if anything, the US has told Canada about the cause.

FAA cites a "temporary telecommunications outage"; no sign yet of the stop being lifted

Confirmed

  • FAA's stated cause: the agency now attributes the stop to a "temporary telecommunications outage," and says every flight has been accounted for and international flights are being handled case by case (FAA post, via Scripps News).
  • No nefarious act indicated: the White House says there is no indication of a "nefarious act" (CBS News). That is an early assessment, not a finding.
  • Scale: at least 8,000 delays and 400 cancellations listed on FlightAware within a short time (CBS News).
  • Still in force: as of this update we have found no official notice lifting the stop.

Our requests for comment

  • Prime Rogue asked the FAA, the US Department of Transportation, CISA, NORAD and the Canadian NORAD Region for comment, with a 9 p.m. ET deadline.
  • CISA and NORAD / US Northern Command both replied by referring questions to the FAA. NORAD: "For questions regarding the nationwide ground stop, I would refer you to the FAA directly." Neither is a denial.
  • No reply yet from the FAA, DOT or the Canadian NORAD Region.

Unknown

  • What failed: "telecommunications outage" names the symptom, not the system or the reason. Whether the fault sits in FAA equipment or a contracted carrier is not yet public.
  • Restart: no criteria or estimate for lifting the stop.

Every US airport under a departure ground stop

The only confirmed cause is an air traffic control communications failure. There is no official word that the stop has been lifted.

Confirmed

  • The order: departures nationwide are held until further notice under an FAA advisory citing "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." Arriving international flights are decided case by case.
  • Timing: the stop began at 2:54 p.m. Central (3:54 p.m. ET), per NewsOn6. The listed end estimate of 10 p.m. Central is a placeholder; "until further notice" governs.
  • Official cause: Transportation Secretary Duffy's post at 4:16 p.m. ET blamed a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, the facilities that handle en route traffic. The FAA's first statement said "multiple" centres, not all. Neither gave a cause or a restart time.
  • Lead-up: Chicago's two major airports went into ground stops for an equipment outage moments before the national order. Delta and United crews out of Boston were already reporting radio trouble.

Reported, not confirmed

  • The Washington Examiner, citing two FAA employees and documentation it viewed, describes a "rolling frequency outage" at the facilities that monitor airborne aircraft.
  • Social media claims that the stop has been lifted have no official backing.

Unknown

  • Root cause: nothing official distinguishes a technical fault from interference or a cyber event. Anyone asserting either is ahead of the evidence.
  • Aircraft already airborne: no official account yet of how they are being handled.
  • Scale and duration: no cancellation counts and no restart estimate.