Airline Stocks After the US Ground Stop: Flights Recover as Duffy Seeks $50bn
US air travel is getting back on its feet after Friday's nationwide ground stop. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted departures from 15:54 ET to 20:15 ET on 13 November 2026. About 50,000 flights were scheduled that day. That is the full Friday schedule of planned flights. Roughly 12,000 of them could not be completed, Newsweek reported. The FAA expects normal schedules by the end of Sunday 15 November, Deep Arrival reported.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy now wants Congress to provide $50 billion to replace the air traffic control system, Fox Business reported. Airline shares slipped in after-hours trading on Friday. Monday 16 November is the first full session since the outage. For US airline stocks, the bigger questions may still be jet fuel and fourth-quarter earnings.
The information in this article is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Table of Contents
- Key Facts at a Glance
- What Happened on Friday 13 November 2026?
- Why Did Airline Stocks Fall Friday?
- How Much Could the Outage Cost Airlines?
- Duffy's $50 Billion Request for Air Traffic Control Funding
- Bigger Drivers for Airline Stocks Than the Outage
- Airline Stocks 5 Year Performance
- Airline Stocks Technical Analysis
- Airline Stocks Price Targets
- Key Dates to Watch
- Airline Stocks Outlook: Illustrative Scenarios
- Upside and Downside for Airline Shares
- How Traders Often Approach Airline Stocks After a Disruption
- Risks to Watch
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How many flights were cancelled Friday?
- Is the 50,000 figure a count of cancellations?
- Will flights be back to normal by Monday?
- Why did airline stocks fall Friday?
- How much is Duffy asking Congress for?
- Will airline stocks recover?
- What is the biggest driver for airline earnings now?
- How is L3Harris linked to the outage?
- Summary
Risk warning: The value of shares can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. This article is general information and should not be treated as investment advice.
Key Facts at a Glance
The table below sums up the outage and the first market reaction.
Source: CBS News, Newsweek, Yahoo News, StockTitan. Figures as of 14 and 15 November 2026.
The chart below shows the US Global Jets ETF (JETS), which holds a basket of airline shares.
What Happened on Friday 13 November 2026?
The FAA stopped nearly every departing flight in the US late on Friday afternoon. Radar and communications data at air traffic control centres had become unstable. It was the longest nationwide halt since 11 September 2001, CBS News reported.
About 3,100 to 3,500 aircraft were in the air when the stop began. All of them landed safely, Newsweek reported.
How Long Was the Ground Stop?
From the moment it took effect to the reopening, it lasted about 4 hours 21 minutes, based on the times in the table below.
Source: StockTitan, CBS News.
What Caused the Ground Stop?
Duffy pointed to router work by the contractor L3Harris at a remote site on the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) network. One router made over 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds. That flood spread to other routers. In the end, 17 of the 22 en route centres were affected, Yahoo News reported.
Officials said there was nothing to suggest a cyberattack. The formal root cause is still under investigation. Other accounts point to old Cisco routers built between 2001 and 2006, or to new security patches that overwhelmed them, CBS News reported. These accounts differ, so the final review is worth watching.
How Many Flights Were Affected by the Ground Stop?
The scale grew over the weekend. The table separates the flight schedule from the cancellation counts.
Source: Newsweek, Reuters via The Korea Times, Yahoo News. Counts are "as of" figures and can overlap.
Friday was the second-worst day of 2026 for US airlines. Only the 25 January snowstorm was worse, with 11,607 cancellations, CBS News noted.
Are Flights Back to Normal?
Largely, according to officials. On Saturday, Duffy said operations were "slowly returning to normal" and that it is safe to fly, ABC7 reported. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford expects normal schedules by close of business on Sunday.
The recovery has been uneven between airlines. American and JetBlue carried the most cancellations into Sunday.
Source: Yahoo News, 14 November 2026.
Why Did Airline Stocks Fall Friday?
The stop began six minutes before the 16:00 ET close. Most of the reaction therefore came in thin after-hours trading. Around 17:48 ET, Delta was down 1.4% from its closing price, while American was down 2.1%, StockTitan reported.
Closing Prices and After-Hours Moves
Source: StockTitan, ChartRow DAL, ChartRow UAL. After-hours volume is thin and prices can move quickly. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
After-hours prices often differ from where shares open on the next full session.
The chart below shows Delta Air Lines (DAL).
How Much Could the Outage Cost Airlines?
A verified total for the cost has yet to be published. Airlines have issued fee waivers that allow rebooking, and some offer refunds. United and American let affected travellers change flights without a change fee. Southwest and Delta offer similar options, StockTitan reported.
A useful benchmark comes from 2024. Delta's July 2024 disruption linked to the CrowdStrike software failure cost about $380 million in revenue, Fortune reported. That event involved about 7,000 cancellations over several days at one airline.
Source: Fortune, Yahoo News. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
The 2026 cancellations are spread across many carriers. A single airline's share of the cost may therefore look smaller than Delta's 2024 hit. The cost for each airline will only become clear when the companies report their results.
Duffy's $50 Billion Request for Air Traffic Control Funding
At a White House news conference on Friday evening, Duffy called the situation an emergency. "I want $50 billion," he said, adding that the old system is "going to continue to fail", Fox Business reported. He plans to send the request to Congress on Monday 16 November.
How the Funding Numbers Compare
Duffy's $50 billion is the largest figure so far. Several other numbers are in play, and they measure different things.
Source: Reuters via The Korea Times, Nextgov, Yahoo News.
The new request is four times the $12.5 billion approved in July 2025. Only about $1 billion of that sum has been spent, according to two House Democrats cited by Reuters.
The Modern Skies Act
The Modern Skies Act was introduced by Senator Eric Schmitt in the autumn of 2026. It sets out $30 billion in three $10 billion blocks. The first block covers digital systems, including $7.2 billion for controller tools. The target is to finish most of the work by the end of 2028, according to the Department of Transportation fact sheet.
Bedford has said a modern system could save "conservatively, $300 billion" over 20 years, Nextgov reported.
What Congress Could Do Next
House Speaker Mike Johnson supports more air traffic control money this year. Leaders of the House transport committee plan a review of the outage. Senate Commerce is planning its own review, Yahoo News reported.
The politics are tense. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has called for Duffy's resignation, Newsweek reported. Government funding also runs out on 11 December, which gives Congress a ready vehicle for extra money, according to Holland & Knight.
Air Traffic Control Contractors
Several companies already work on the upgrade. Two of them are listed in the US.
Source: The Register, Washington Technology, Fox Business, CBS News.
L3Harris stock fell about 4% after hours on Friday, Reuters reported. The company said it is supporting the FAA investigation. It also says it has completed more than 70% of the switch from copper to fibre lines, Yahoo News reported.
For contractors, more money could be a long-term tailwind. In the near term, L3Harris faces headline risk from the investigation. Readers who follow the sector may find our guide to defence stocks useful for context.
The outage lasted one evening, while the fuel bill runs every day. Delta and United both named fuel as the main reason for cutting their outlooks in October.
Bigger Drivers for Airline Stocks Than the Outage
The ground stop is a short operational shock. The forces that moved airline stocks most in 2026 are slower and larger.
Airline Stocks and Oil Prices
Jet fuel is one of the biggest costs for any airline. Brent crude was near $72 a barrel in late February, before the war with Iran began, according to Convex. It settled at $95.84 on 13 November, Reuters reported via Nation Thailand. That is a rise of about 33%.
Source: Nation Thailand (Reuters), Nation Thailand (Reuters), IATA Fuel Price Monitor. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
The longer record for Brent is shown below.
Period: calendar years 2021 to 2025, plus 2026 to 13 November. Source: Convex 2021, Convex 2022, Convex 2023, Convex 2024, Convex 2025, Nation Thailand (Reuters). Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Oil prices fell sharply in early November, and Delta has since traded well above its October low. Traders often watch Brent crude as a guide to airline margins. Our recent analysis of the Brent crude oil price and the Iran war covers the supply side in more detail.
Q4 Guidance Already Cut on Fuel
Both Delta and United lowered their outlook in October. Fuel was the main reason in each case.
Source: Hydrocarbon Processing (Reuters), Airways Magazine. Forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Delta expects its 2026 fuel bill to rise by about $6 billion. Its chief financial officer said simply "All of it is fuel", Reuters reported. Demand has held up well. United's unit revenue rose 15.9% in the third quarter, according to Airways Magazine.
Interest Rates and the Fed
The US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 5.15% on Friday. Many economists expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates in December, AP reported. Higher yields can weigh on cyclical sectors such as airlines. Our article on why the Fed raised interest rates explains how rate moves feed into share prices.
Thanksgiving Travel 2026
The holiday period is a real-world test for the repaired network. Airlines for America projects nearly 29 million travellers. American expects more than 8 million customers on 85,000 flights between 19 November and 1 December, ABC30 reported. Sunday 29 November may be its busiest day since the pandemic, with 7,021 flights planned.
Airline Stocks 5 Year Performance
The recent moves make more sense against the longer record. The table shows calendar-year total returns and year-end closes. Figures are before taxes and costs, which may vary.
Period: calendar years 2021 to 2025, plus 2026 to 13 November. Total returns with dividends reinvested, shown before taxes and costs, which may vary. Some year-end closes may be adjusted for dividends. The 2026 figures are price changes from the 2025 year-end close. Source: ChartRow DAL, ChartRow UAL, ChartRow AAL, ChartRow LUV, ChartRow JETS, ChartRow LHX. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
The record is uneven. 2022 was a weak year for every airline in the table. 2024 brought a strong rebound, with United up more than 135% from a low base. American has lost ground in two of the last three periods shown.
Airline Stocks Technical Analysis
The levels below come from recent swing points and moving averages. They are reference points for context and carry the usual limits of past data.
Source: ChartRow DAL, ChartRow UAL, ChartRow AAL, ChartRow LUV, data as of the 13 November 2026 close. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Delta and Southwest closed above their 20-day averages. United and American closed below them. Some traders watch whether Monday's session holds these lines.
Airline Stocks Price Targets
Analysts updated their Delta targets after its third-quarter results. Their views split in both directions.
Source: Stocktwits, 12 October 2026. These targets were set before the ground stop. Forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Key Dates to Watch
Source: Federal Reserve calendar, Holland & Knight, ABC30, Yahoo News. Earnings timing is an estimate.
The economic calendar on our forex calendar page lists the Fed decision and other macro releases.
Airline Stocks Outlook: Illustrative Scenarios
The scenarios below are illustrative. They show how markets could react, and they are not predictions.
Illustrative scenarios based on the sources cited in this article. Forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future performance.
In November 2025, a government shutdown led the FAA to order flight cuts of up to 10%, Stocktwits reported. Airline shares slipped after hours on that news.
Upside and Downside for Airline Shares
Source: Hydrocarbon Processing, Airways Magazine, AP via WHDH.
How Traders Often Approach Airline Stocks After a Disruption
Events like this one can cause sharp moves in airline shares. Traders often look at a few points before forming a view.
- They compare the size of the disruption with the full quarterly cost base.
- They check daily cancellation counts for signs of a full recovery.
- They watch the oil price, since fuel is one of the biggest costs for any airline.
- They follow pre-market prices on Monday for an early read on sentiment.
- They review position size, because gaps at the open can be large.
Our guide to pre-market trading explains how early prices form. The article on market volatility covers why event-driven moves can reverse quickly.
Ways to Gain Exposure
Admirals offers CFDs on shares of US companies. It also offers CFDs on commodities such as crude oil. Check the contract specifications to see which individual shares are listed. Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains. Trading is available on MetaTrader 5.
Steps to open an account usually look like this.
- Choose an account type that fits your experience.
- Complete the identity checks and other onboarding requirements.
- Fund the account once it is approved.
- Review the available risk management tools before placing a trade.
A demo account uses virtual funds. Results may differ from live trading.
Risks to Watch
- Fuel prices could rise again if tensions near the Strait of Hormuz flare up.
- United's Q4 guidance already sits below analyst consensus.
- The ageing network could fail again before upgrades are finished.
- The controller shortage still runs to several thousand staff, Reuters reported.
- A dispute over blame could slow the funding process.
- A government shutdown after 11 December could lead to new flight cuts.
- Thin after-hours trading means Monday's open may look very different.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many flights were cancelled Friday?
FlightAware counted about 9,200 US cancellations on Friday 13 November, out of roughly 50,000 flights scheduled that day.
Is the 50,000 figure a count of cancellations?
It is the number of flights scheduled on Friday. About 12,000 of those flights could not be completed that day.
Will flights be back to normal by Monday?
The FAA expects normal schedules by the end of Sunday, though some airlines may still face knock-on delays.
Why did airline stocks fall Friday?
The ground stop began six minutes before the close, and airline shares fell between 1.4% and 2.1% after hours.
How much is Duffy asking Congress for?
Duffy is asking for $50 billion to replace the air traffic control system, with the request due on Monday.
Will airline stocks recover?
Recovery depends on flights returning to normal and on fuel prices. Past moves do not predict future ones.
What is the biggest driver for airline earnings now?
Jet fuel remains the largest factor. Delta and United both cut their outlooks in October because of fuel costs.
How is L3Harris linked to the outage?
L3Harris runs the FAA telecoms network, and Duffy linked the outage to router work carried out on that network.
Summary
US flights are close to normal after the longest nationwide halt since 2001. About 12,000 of roughly 50,000 scheduled Friday flights could not be completed. Duffy's $50 billion request has put air traffic control funding at the centre of the debate in Washington. For airline shares, the Monday open is the first real test. Fuel and rates may matter more over the coming months. So may the Q4 results in January.
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