July 16, 2026

Dallas-Fort Worth and Love Field are in active thunderstorm ground stops, Seattle went into a ground delay program, and Orlando's ground stop has cleared

The FAA put DFW and Dallas Love Field into ground stops at 3:49 and 3:51 PM ET, both running to 5 PM, as thunderstorms trained across North Texas (DFW: 1,355 flights affected, 48-minute average delay; DAL: 924 flights, 51-minute average). Seattle's third ground stop of the afternoon transitioned into a ground delay program at 4:04 PM ET averaging 31 minutes and running to midnight. Orlando went into a ground stop at 3 PM, activated diversion recovery, and cleared at 4:25 PM. Austin just went into a ground stop at 4:30 PM. The Philadelphia smoke GDP and the NY Metro hotline are both still active, with the FAA's next planning webinar at 5:15 PM ET.

DFW and Love Field are in active ground stops over North Texas thunderstorms

The FAA issued a ground stop for DFW at 3:49 PM ET, holding departures from first-tier centers (ZHU, ZFW, ZKC, ZME, ZAB) bound for Dallas-Fort Worth through 5 PM ET. The stop covers 1,355 flights with a 48-minute average delay and a 78-minute maximum, driven by thunderstorms over the DFW terminal area, with a medium probability of extension. Dallas Love Field got its own ground stop two minutes later at 3:51 PM ET, running to the same 5 PM ET cutoff, affecting 924 flights with a 51-minute average. The FAA's post-3:15 PM webinar ops plan added DFW and DAL to the terminal-planned list for the first time today and noted convective weather continuing to train west of San Antonio, impacting SAT, AUS, and I90 operations. ZFW is running severe weather avoidance routes and CDRs, with a fuel advisory warning that aircraft capping at or below FL230 is possible for departures until exiting ZFW airspace. The North Texas Weather Hotline is active. No airline has issued a DFW-specific waiver for today: American's last DFW severe-weather waiver covered July 12 travel (rebook window closed July 12), and United's active Texas waiver covers only South Texas airports (AUS, IAH, SAT, rebook through July 17).

Seattle's third ground stop became a ground delay program running to midnight

Seattle-Tacoma went through three separate ground stops this afternoon before the FAA implemented a ground delay program at 4:04 PM ET. The first stop (from the prior issue) ended around 2:12 PM ET. A Delta-only stop ran from 2:13 to 3:30 PM ET at the carrier's request. Then an all-carrier ground stop at 3:34 PM ET ballooned to 1,871 affected flights with a 141-minute maximum and 65-minute average, before transitioning into the GDP. The GDP covers arrivals from 4:05 PM through 11:59 PM ET at a rate of 38 to 46 flights per hour, with a 192-minute maximum and 31-minute average delay, affecting all contiguous US departure facilities plus five Canadian airports (Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Victoria, Kelowna). FOX 13 Seattle and MyNorthwest reported SEA operating at 42 arrivals per hour using runways 16R and 16L, with departure delays averaging 65 minutes from weather-related reroutes. The ops plan lists a possible SEA GDP extension through 9 PM ET.

Orlando went into a ground stop, diverted flights, and cleared

The FAA issued a ground stop for Orlando at 3:06 PM ET, holding first-tier departures (ZTL, ZDC, ZHU, ZJX, ZMA) through 4:15 PM ET, then extending it to 4:45 PM ET with 784 affected flights, a 100-minute maximum, and 52-minute average. Thunderstorms over central Florida reduced visibility and created unsafe arrival conditions. The FAA activated diversion recovery for MCO at 3:57 PM ET, telling airlines to include diversion information in flight plan remarks. The ground stop was cancelled at 4:25 PM ET with the note "weather moved off and holding stacks cleared." Diversion recovery remains active through 8 PM ET. MCO also had 30-minute arrival delays from thunderstorms starting at 2:37 PM ET.

Austin just went into a ground stop at 4:30 PM ET

The FAA issued a ground stop for Austin-Bergstrom at 4:30 PM ET, holding internal ZHU departures through 5:30 PM ET. The stop covers 121 flights with a 44-minute maximum and 24-minute average, driven by thunderstorms, with a medium probability of extension. This is Austin's first ground stop today, after morning arrival delays and coded departure routes ran through 6 PM ET. The ops plan lists AUS and SAT as possible for additional ground stops through 8 PM ET as the convective system continues training across South Texas.

Philadelphia's smoke GDP is still running and the NY Metro hotline is active

The Philadelphia ground delay program from the prior issue remains active through 11:59 PM ET, averaging 65 minutes with a 125-minute maximum, at a 32-arrival rate driven by low visibility from Canadian wildfire smoke. ABC News reported that an American Airlines pilot told Philadelphia air traffic controllers that ash was sticking to his aircraft's windshield, saying "I've never seen it stick to the windshield." The Philadelphia Inquirer counted 148 flights delayed into PHL with a posted delay of 66 minutes. No airline has issued a smoke waiver.

Separately, the FAA activated the NY Metro Hotline at 3:40 PM ET to address weather issues in the ZNY terminal areas, running through 11 PM ET with mandatory participation for ZNY, ZBW, ZDC, ZOB, EWR, LGA, JFK, PHL, and TEB. LaGuardia has 30-minute arrival delays from compacted demand through 9 PM ET. The ops plan keeps LGA, JFK, and EWR as possible ground stop or GDP candidates through 8 PM ET, and ATL through 6 PM ET, but none have gone active yet. The Delaware Online forecast says smoke may peak Friday before a cold front and showers help disperse it over the weekend.

What's still running, the staffing trigger, and what to watch next

Three GDPs from earlier today continue: SFO (fog, until 6:59 PM ET, averaging 42 minutes, though the ops plan says it will likely be cancelled in the next hour), SAN (volume, until 1:59 AM ET Friday, averaging 31 minutes), and the PHL smoke GDP (until 11:59 PM ET). The FAA issued the first staffing trigger of the day: L30 (Las Vegas TRACON) operations from 5 PM to 3 AM ET. The next FAA planning webinar is at 5:15 PM ET. Downstream hubs the ops plan flags as possible through this evening: ATL (ground stop or GDP possible until 6 PM), BWI (ground stop possible until 7 PM), LGA, JFK, and EWR (possible until 8 PM), MIA and FLL (possible until 8 PM). SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 has a launch window from 6:45 to 8:56 PM ET from Starbase, Texas, which could add airspace constraints over the ZHU area on top of the thunderstorm activity. FlightAware is tracking 4,185 delays and 265 cancellations globally so far today, with the numbers building as the DFW and DAL ground stops work through their queues. Check your airline's app or the FAA's NAS status page for real-time updates.