Airport Delays Right Now: the FAA's Status by Airport
The FAA’s own status for your airport right now — ground stops, delay programs, delays, closures — beside how it usually does.
Atlanta (ATL) · the FAA’s status now
Loading the FAA's status for Atlanta (ATL)Its record, August 2025 – July 2026: 77% of flights leaving Atlanta left on time and 81% of those landing there arrived on time (US DOT).
How Atlanta usually does (US DOT, 12 months)
- Departures on time
- 77%
- Arrivals on time
- 81%
- Cancelled
- 1.9%
Your own route’s record: How Often Is My Flight Late?
Live status: the FAA’s National Airspace System Status, read by Travel Magma every 5 minutes. Record: the US DOT’s on-time file, August 2025 – July 2026.
Every US airport with an FAA delay right now
Loading the FAA’s status…
Pick your airport: the FAA’s own status there right now — a ground stop, a ground delay program, departure or arrival delays, a closure — read every 5 minutes, beside how often its flights left on time over twelve months. No FAA delay means the airport is moving; your own flight can still be late.
How to use it
Choose an airport; the 30 busiest are at the top of the list. The answer says what the FAA reports there now, in the airport’s own time, with every event the FAA lists: how long flights heading there are held, until when, and why. Under it, the airport’s record from the US DOT: the share of departures and arrivals on time over twelve months, and the same month a year ago. Below the tool, every US airport with an FAA delay right now, the worst first; tap one to see it. The link under the answer keeps your airport.
What the FAA’s words mean
Ground stop. Flights that are destined to the affected airport are held at their departure point for the duration of the Ground Stop.
The FAA uses one, among other reasons, when the airport is unable to accept any arrivals.
It gives the time it ends and how likely it is to be extended: Low (less than 30%)
, Medium (30%-60%)
or High (Above 60%)
. If you are flying TO that airport, your flight waits where you are; if you are flying FROM it, the plane you are meant to take may be one of those held.
Ground delay program. A Ground Delay Program is implemented to control air traffic volume to airports where the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the airport's acceptance rate for a lengthy period of time.
When it is on, all traffic that is destined to that airport will be delayed at their departure point until the flights Expected Departure Clearance Time (EDCT).
The FAA gives the average delay and the longest.
Departure and arrival delays. A Departure Delay Event indicates departing traffic will be experiencing longer than normal taxi times or holding at the gate.
An Arrival Delay Event indicates arriving aircraft will be delayed with airborne holding.
Delays are tracked in 15 minute increments and are annotated as increasing or decreasing.
Closures. An Airport Closure Event indicates that an airport has been closed for all operations by the local airport authority.
However, an airport closure can include an exception that may permit operation of certain aircraft to the airport (ex: emergency, military) or require prior permission for operation.
A closure every night (a runway or a curfew) shows as a daily window in the airport’s time.
De-icing. A Deicing Event indicates the Airport has implemented a formal deicing program to remove snow and ice from departing aircraft.
The FAA also lists notices to pilots (an airfield closed to private planes, to very large aircraft); those are not delays, and the tool shows them apart. Source: the FAA’s NAS Status User Guide.
How the 30 busiest airports usually do
Every domestic flight of the large US airlines, August 2025 – July 2026 (US DOT), by the share of departures that left less than 15 minutes late. Salt Lake City (SLC) did best and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) worst.
| Airport | Departures on time | Arrivals on time | Cancelled | Average delay of late arrivals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 84% | 84% | 0.8% | 70 min |
| Portland (PDX) | 84% | 82% | 0.9% | 59 min |
| Dulles (IAD) | 82% | 81% | 1.6% | 89 min |
| Houston (IAH) | 80% | 81% | 1.1% | 78 min |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 79% | 80% | 1.5% | 82 min |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 79% | 79% | 1% | 67 min |
| Seattle (SEA) | 79% | 79% | 1.1% | 58 min |
| Detroit (DTW) | 77% | 78% | 1.8% | 85 min |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 77% | 81% | 1.9% | 80 min |
| Newark (EWR) | 77% | 74% | 3.3% | 85 min |
| Tampa (TPA) | 77% | 75% | 1.5% | 66 min |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 76% | 79% | 0.9% | 73 min |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 76% | 81% | 2% | 92 min |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 76% | 76% | 2.6% | 92 min |
| Denver (DEN) | 76% | 78% | 0.8% | 72 min |
| New York (JFK) | 75% | 75% | 3.8% | 84 min |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 75% | 67% | 1.1% | 66 min |
| Boston (BOS) | 74% | 71% | 2.8% | 75 min |
| Austin (AUS) | 74% | 76% | 1.1% | 63 min |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 74% | 77% | 0.9% | 63 min |
| Miami (MIA) | 73% | 76% | 1.6% | 79 min |
| San Diego (SAN) | 73% | 72% | 1.2% | 54 min |
| New York (LGA) | 72% | 69% | 4.8% | 80 min |
| Orlando (MCO) | 72% | 74% | 1.7% | 71 min |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 72% | 79% | 1.7% | 58 min |
| Chicago (ORD) | 71% | 71% | 3% | 90 min |
| Nashville (BNA) | 71% | 75% | 1.5% | 60 min |
| Washington (DCA) | 71% | 69% | 3.5% | 80 min |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 69% | 75% | 2.9% | 95 min |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 68% | 70% | 2.4% | 70 min |
Worked examples
The FAA’s status on October 14, 2026, at 1:07 PM EDT: 9 airports had an FAA delay or one starting soon.
- Newark, a thunderstorm: Ground stop: flights heading to Newark are held at their departure airports until 1:45 PM EDT (thunderstorms). The FAA rates the chance it is extended medium (30%–60%). Its record: 77% of departures left on time over twelve months.
- Boston, a program about to start: Ground delay program from 1:30 PM EDT: flights heading to Boston wait at their departure airports, 1 hr 6 min on average and up to 2 hr 47 min, until 11:59 PM EDT (runway construction).
- Denver, a program on: Ground delay program: flights heading to Denver wait at their departure airports, 30 min on average and up to 1 hr 18 min, until 12:59 PM MDT (runway construction).
- Chicago O’Hare, busy: Departures are running 16–30 min late and increasing (volume), as of 11:00 AM CDT. No ground stop and no program: the planes leave, just slower.
- Santa Ana (John Wayne), a nightly closure: Closed every day 11:30 PM – 6:15 AM PDT, until October 17, 6:15 AM PDT — open right now. At 10 in the morning there, the answer is “Santa Ana (SNA) closes every day 11:30 PM – 6:15 AM PDT” — not a delay now.
- Los Angeles, a notice that is not a delay: the FAA listed LAX for a notice to pilots — the airfield closed to non-scheduled private planes without permission. The answer was “No FAA delays at Los Angeles (LAX) right now”.
Common mistakes
- Reading “no FAA delay” as “my flight is on time”. The FAA reports what holds the whole airport. A late inbound plane, a crew or a repair delays one flight and never shows here: your airline’s app has your flight.
- Thinking a ground stop at your home airport keeps you there. A ground stop at Newark holds flights going TO Newark; flights leaving it can still go, though the planes they need may be among those held.
- Going by an old status. A ground stop or a delay program runs to a time the FAA sets, and the FAA may extend it — it rates the chance. On October 14, 2026, Newark’s ground stop began at 12:19 PM EDT and was set to end at 1:45 PM. The answer gives the time of the FAA’s status; come back to the tab and it reads it again.
- Calling the airport’s record a forecast. Fort Lauderdale (FLL)’s departures left on time 68% of the time over twelve months: most flights still left on time. The record says how often, not whether yours will.
Before you go
For your own route and airline, How Often Is My Flight Late? has twelve months of the record by departure time; when it happens, Delayed Flight: What Your Airline Owes You and Cancelled Flight: What Your Airline Owes You say what you can ask for, and on a long wait the Long Layover Planner or Sleeping Pods & Nap Rooms help. Our flight delay compensation guide covers what you may be owed, the carry-on packing list what to keep with you for a long wait, red-eye flights and the long flight survival guide the flight itself, and the top US airlines who flies where.
FAQ
What is a ground stop?
Flights that are destined to the affected airport are held at their departure point for the duration of the Ground Stop.
The FAA says when it ends and rates how likely it is to be extended: low (under 30%), medium (30%–60%) or high (over 60%). On October 14, 2026, thunderstorms put Newark, LaGuardia and Teterboro under one.
What is a ground delay program?
A Ground Delay Program is implemented to control air traffic volume to airports where the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the airport's acceptance rate for a lengthy period of time.
Each flight heading there gets a departure time and waits at its own airport until then; the FAA gives the average delay. On October 14, 2026, Boston’s was 1 hr 6 min on average, up to 2 hr 47 min, for runway construction.
How do I check FAA flight delays by airport?
Pick the airport above: the answer is the FAA’s National Airspace System Status for it, read every 5 minutes, and the list under the tool has every US airport with a delay now. The FAA’s own page is nasstatus.faa.gov.
Are there delays at Newark airport today?
Pick Newark (EWR) in the tool for the FAA’s status now. Over twelve months (August 2025 – July 2026), 77% of its departures left on time and 3.3% of its arrivals were cancelled — a higher share cancelled than at most of the 30 busiest.
Which airports have the most delays?
Of the 30 busiest, over August 2025 – July 2026, the fewest departures left on time at Fort Lauderdale (FLL) (68%), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) (69%), Washington (DCA) (71%); the most at Salt Lake City (SLC) (84%), Portland (PDX) (84%), Dulles (IAD) (82%). The table above has all 30.
Why is my flight delayed when the FAA shows no delay?
The FAA’s status covers what slows a whole airport: weather, volume, a runway, a closure. A flight can be late for its own reasons — the plane arriving late from its last trip, the crew, a repair — and those never show here. Your airline’s app or the departures board has your flight.