LAX, other airports filled with stranded passengers during nationwide ground stop: ‘I might spend the rest of my life here’

A four-hour ground stoppage on all flights in the United States on Friday led to chaos for thousands of travelers at airports across California.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the stoppage at around 1 p.m. and lifted it at about 5:15 p.m. It was the second full U.S. ground stop since 9/11, and U.S. transportation officials said it stemmed from a telecommunications issue and old air traffic control technology.

Though U.S. flights have resumed, it will likely take several days to restore normal operations due to a backlog of flights.

At around 5:30 p.m., Chicago resident Raven Redmond, 32, told The Times she just wanted to go home to be with her 9-year-old son, who has autism.

Redmond, who was sitting on a window ledge at Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 3, was trying to figure out different ways to go home.

The professional hip-hop dancer’s return flight to Chicago O’Hare International Airport was booked for Sunday, but she had hoped put herself on standby for a Friday flight because her weekend gig had fallen through and hotel prices in L.A. were high.

She tried to book an Amtrak ticket, but the customer service line kept dropping. She briefly considered embarking on a cross-country bus ride, but the soonest she could arrive was Monday.

“I’m so worried about how long I have to stay in L.A. because of this,” she said. “It’s causing so much emotional turmoil.”

Zack Richeimer, 29, found himself stuck at LAX’s Terminal 6 on Friday, “running around like a chicken with its head cut off,” hoping to find a way to San Francisco.

When he arrived at the airport, his flight to San Francisco International Airport was officially delayed, and the screens at the terminal showed no cancellations, so he figured he just needed to wait. Then his phone lighted up, with several friends telling him: “You’re stuck.”

California

Nationwide ground stop lifted, but passengers remain stranded at airports

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop Friday for all flights in the United States, according to an advisory from the agency.

Nov. 13, 2026

An Alaska Airlines agent helped him rebook for Saturday, but Richeimer wanted to keep his plans in the Bay Area and scrambled to find a way to make it there.

Other travelers around him seemed either to be frantically working on their phones or sitting in disbelief. “It’s a little overwhelming,” he said.

His flight home to New York City on Sunday will depart from SFO, so he tried the rental car companies — hoping to drive instead — but no one was picking up the phone.

“I’m also part of a mass exodus from this airport at the moment,” Richeimer said. “I came to L.A. not realizing that I might spend the rest of my life here.”

His plan was to show up at a rental car facility near LAX and hope for the best. The backup plan: his friends’ couch.

Dylan Schroeder, 37, had already boarded a plane in Charlotte, N.C., around 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time, headed for Orlando, Fla., when the pilot made an unusual announcement.

“Once everyone was on board,” he said, “the pilot came on saying air traffic control was having system issues.”

The pilot said they’d stay on the plane for an update and after just over an hour announced that the passengers would deplane.

Schroeder, a Baton Rouge, La., resident, said the overall mood on the plane was decent “considering the circumstances.” Several passengers who appeared to be going to Disney World appeared to be disappointed.

At 4:15 p.m. Marcelo Guevara, 30, who was returning from a 16-day vacation in Japan, stood by Delta Airlines’ check-in kiosks at LAX Terminal 3. His scheduled connecting flight appeared to be missing from Delta’s departure board, and he was waiting for an agent to help.

“Right now, I’m trying not to think about it much, just not stress out,” Guevara said.

But the logistics analyst said he was worried about making it back to his hometown of Lima, Peru, by Monday since he is scheduled to work that day. His return trip requires several layovers and takes about 23 hours, he said. If he couldn’t get home by then, it would be a “big problem,” he said.

A line of about 40 people had formed for Delta’s customer service.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the stoppage was caused by a telecommunications outage and did not constitute a national security threat.