Hundreds stranded at Harrisburg airport after U.S. flight ground stop

Hours-long ground stop on flights across U.S. leaves travelers stranded at Harrisburg International Airport A telecommunications outage grounded flights nationwide for hours, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded at Harrisburg International Airport and seeking alternative ways home.

The Details

• Updated: 11:41 PM EST Nov 13, 2026
• Editorial Standards ⓘ
• Maegan Summers
• Reporter

Hours-long ground stop on flights across U.S. leaves travelers stranded at Harrisburg International Airport A telecommunications outage grounded flights nationwide for hours, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded at Harrisburg International Airport and seeking alternative ways home.

• Updated: 11:41 PM EST Nov 13, 2026
• Editorial Standards ⓘ
• Maegan Summers
• Reporter

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Flights across the United States were grounded for hours this evening due to a telecommunications outage, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded at Harrisburg International Airport and prompting cancellations and delays.

Around the time the ground stop was issued, Harrisburg International Airport reported about 30 flights still scheduled for the evening. Many of those flights were canceled, and some flights for tomorrow morning also showed up as 'canceled' on airport boards Friday evening.

With the ground stop lifted, Harrisburg International Airport said each airline will decide whether flights will depart tonight on a flight-by-flight basis. Some flights may arrive at the airport as late as 2 or 3 a.m., and similar disruptions are expected for tomorrow morning, as some planes may not arrive in time to depart for early morning flights.

One flight was diverted to HIA during the ground stop: a flight from Tampa, with a planned final destination of LaGuardia Airport in New York.

"I found some random people on the plane that I talked with before the flight. After we landed, we decided to rent a car to drive together to New York," said Maya Hansen, who was on that diverted flight.

She said she learned about the ground stop mid-air. "We were told there was communication issues and we were going to be routed to Harrisburg. Scary, definitely scary," Hansen said.

Other travelers found out about the ground stop after arriving at the airport, where flight boards displayed a series of delays and cancellations.

"I drove to the airport, and I asked some of my coworkers, like, hey, do you want to meet up at a restaurant in there? And they're like, did you not hear about the ground stop? And I'm like, what are you talking about?" said Lucas Cates, originally from Madison, Wisconsin. "We've all just been pivoting. It's kind of a wild goose chase to find rentals or figure out plans to get home."

Cates said he plans to drive back to Wisconsin over the next couple of days. However, other passengers from the same flight are driving the 12-hour journey tonight.

"I was shocked. I originally was supposed to fly out at seven, then it was getting delayed to nine, and now it's just canceled," Delanie Ilumin, also from Wisconsin, said. "I just want to go home."

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