July 16, 2026

Atlanta's ground stop is running until midnight, DFW went back into one, and JFK and Boston got ground stops this evening

The FAA extended Atlanta's ground stop to midnight at 6:58 PM ET (2,544 flights, 57-minute average delay) as thunderstorms trained across north Georgia. DFW went back into a ground stop at 6:50 PM after its first one was cancelled at 5:20 PM. JFK got a thunderstorm ground stop until 8 PM, Boston got a wind ground stop until 7:45 PM, DCA transitioned from a wind ground stop to a ground delay program running to midnight, and San Antonio got a ground stop that has ended. The Philadelphia smoke GDP and San Diego GDP continue. SpaceX's Starship launch was scrubbed and moved to July 17.

The last issue at 4:32 PM ET covered DFW, Love Field, Seattle, Orlando, and Austin in active ground stops or delay programs. Since then the disruption has shifted east and intensified. Atlanta is now the biggest active program, DFW re-escalated, and the New York and Boston metros joined in.

Atlanta ground stop extended to midnight

The FAA issued Atlanta's ground stop at 5:56 PM ET (ADVZY 115), initially running to 7:15 PM with 951 affected flights and a 43-minute average delay. At 6:58 PM the FAA extended it to midnight and added New York Center (ZNY) to the departure facilities, ballooning the affected-flight count to 2,544 with a 122-minute maximum and 57-minute average (ADVZY 125). Atlanta News First confirmed the ground stop at 6:31 PM ET. The cause is thunderstorms over north Georgia. Atlanta Center (ZTL) has extended flight-plan drop times to 240 minutes through 1 AM ET (ADVZY 128). Delta, which hubs at ATL, has led U.S. cancellations on repeated Atlanta ground-stop days this month. No Atlanta-specific airline waiver has been posted as of this issue.

DFW went back into a ground stop at 6:50 PM

DFW's first ground stop today (3:34 PM, covered in the last issue) was extended one hour to 6 PM at 4:55 PM (ADVZY 100, 3,005 flights, 68-minute average) but then cancelled at 5:20 PM (ADVZY 105). Dallas Love Field's ground stop was similarly extended to 6 PM (ADVZY 099, 1,967 flights, 82-minute average) and cancelled at 5:43 PM (ADVZY 110).

Then at 6:50 PM the FAA put DFW back into a ground stop, running to 8:15 PM ET, with 1,485 flights affected, an 80-minute maximum, and 40-minute average delay, cause thunderstorms (ADVZY 126). Dallas News confirmed the afternoon ground stops, noting this is the second straight day of DFW and Love Field ground stops. American Airlines' DFW waiver from July 12 (rebook through July 16) is still listed on aa.com as "current as of July 13" but no new waiver for today's second round has been posted.

JFK, Boston, and DCA all went into ground stops or delay programs

JFK got a thunderstorm ground stop at 6:36 PM ET running to 8 PM, with 305 flights affected and a 61-minute average delay (ADVZY 121). The FAA's 6 PM ops plan (ADVZY 112) noted N90 entered SWAP, the New York Metro hotline was activated, and departure delays were hitting LGA, TEB, and PHL from thunderstorms in central New Jersey. LGA/JFK and EWR ground stop or delay programs were listed as possible through 8 PM.

Boston went into a wind ground stop at 6:33 PM ET running to 7:45 PM, with 1,052 flights affected and a 46-minute average (ADVZY 119). The ops plan cited a small line of east-to-west thunderstorms moving south toward BOS.

DCA went into a wind ground stop at 5:37 PM ET (ADVZY 111, 659 flights, 31-minute average, until 6:45 PM), then transitioned to a ground delay program at 6:41 PM running to midnight, with a 75-minute maximum and 32-minute average (ADVZY 118). The GDP advisory noted south flow and a step-up predicated on weather improvements.

San Antonio got a ground stop at 5:07 PM ET running to 6:30 PM (565 flights, 51-minute average, thunderstorms, ADVZY 107) that was cancelled at 6:07 PM (ADVZY 114).

Philadelphia smoke GDP and San Diego GDP continue

The Philadelphia ground delay program from Canadian wildfire smoke (implemented at 11:30 AM ET, ADVZY 055) is still active until midnight, averaging 65 minutes with a 125-minute maximum. The FAA's ops plan lists N90 under low visibility and smoke constraints, and Chicago Center (ZAU) has extended flight-plan drop times to 180 minutes due to smoke through 2 AM ET (ADVZY 127). No airline has issued a smoke waiver, consistent with the 2023 pattern when carriers did not waive change fees for wildfire-smoke disruptions.

San Diego's volume GDP continues until 1:59 AM Friday, revised at 10:55 PM ET with a 930-minute maximum and 44-minute average (ADVZY 122). SAN also has arrival delays up to 30 minutes from compacted demand (ADVZY 124).

The Seattle GDP from the afternoon thunderstorm ground stops (implemented 4:05 PM, ADVZY 090) was listed as possible through 9 PM ET in the ops plan. San Francisco's GDP ended at 6:59 PM, with a possible new program after 10 PM.

SpaceX Starship scrubbed, moved to July 17

The SpaceX Starship Flight 13 launch scheduled for 6:45 PM ET today was scrubbed. The FAA cancelled the STARSHIP_WEST flow control area at 6:52 PM (ADVZY 120) and issued a replacement advisory moving the launch to July 17, with pre-mission coded departure routes active through July 18 at 8:51 PM ET (ADVZY 123). In the event of a mishap, debris response areas could close Texas airspace for up to 146 minutes. The SpaceX SDA-T1TL-E launch from Vandenberg this afternoon was successful.

Staffing and what to watch

The ops plan lists three staffing triggers tonight: ZBW Area C until 9 PM ET, ZLC Area B from 8 PM to midnight, and L30 through 3 AM. A ZDC staffing constraint triggered a route restriction rerouting Florida and Texas departures away from LGA and TEB (ADVZY 129). The FAA's next planning webinar is expected around 9:15 PM ET, based on the two-hour interval the Command Center has kept all day.

For rebooking: check your carrier's travel-alerts page directly. American's July 12 DFW waiver (rebook through today, July 16, per a July 13 report) may still apply to DFW travelers, but no new waiver for today's second round of ground stops has been posted. United's South Texas waiver (AUS, IAH, SAT, rebook July 13-17) covers the Texas airports. No Atlanta, JFK, Boston, or smoke-specific waiver has been posted. Delta and JetBlue customers should check delta.com and jetblue.com directly.

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