Flight Disruptions Now

July 17, 2026

LaGuardia got a volume ground stop, Teterboro's staffing-driven GDP is averaging 3.5 hours, and eight airports are in ground delay programs tonight

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The 4:39 PM forecast went fully live by evening. LaGuardia is in a volume ground stop until 8:15 PM ET, eight airports are in ground delay programs tonight (Teterboro averaging 3 hours 32 minutes on staffing, O'Hare at 1 hour 45 on thunderstorms, DCA at 1 hour 23 on low visibility the FAA says will not improve until tomorrow), South Florida departures cannot get north or west, and FlightAware is tracking 8,588 U.S. delays and 161 cancellations.

The Northeast forecast went live: LaGuardia ground stop, Teterboro at 3.5 hours

The FAA issued a ground stop for LaGuardia at 7:07 PM ET (ADVZY 149), holding all Washington Center departures to LGA through 8:15 PM ET. The cause is volume, not weather: the FAA's current operations plan (ADVZY 151, signed 7:36 PM ET) says the ground stop was issued "due to excessive overhead demand during the 00Z hour." 248 flights are affected, with a 35-minute average delay and a 63-minute maximum. The probability of extension is listed as MEDIUM.

Around LaGuardia, the rest of the New York metro is in ground delay programs. Teterboro (TEB) has the longest delay in the country tonight: its GDP is averaging 3 hours 32 minutes with departure delays of 16 to 30 minutes attributed to staffing, according to FlightCheck's 7:33 PM ET snapshot. The FAA's ops plan lists TEB's GDP running through 10:59 PM ET, with staffing triggers active at ZBW Area C, ZBW Area E, and PHL Area C until 10:30 PM ET or later. Newark's GDP is averaging 1 hour 6 minutes and runs through 11:59 PM ET.

The Philadelphia smoke GDP that went active at 2 PM ET (as covered this afternoon) is still running, averaging 1 hour 7 minutes due to low visibility, through 10:59 PM ET. Canadian wildfire smoke continues to cut visibility at PHL and the Potomac TRACON (PCT), per the FAA ops plan's terminal constraints list.

Reagan National is the other major Northeast GDP. DCA's program is averaging 1 hour 23 minutes due to low visibility, with the FAA's advisory (ADVZY 148, signed 7:05 PM ET) stating that "sustainable VFR operation is not anticipated until after 0400Z" (midnight ET) and that "visibility conditions are not expected to improve until next day." The program runs through 11:59 PM ET at a rate of 28 arrivals per hour, with a maximum delay of 215 minutes. An earlier proposal (ADVZY 141) set the arrival rate at 24, meaning the FAA raised it by four hourly slots, though the visibility ceiling remains the binding constraint.

O'Hare now has a thunderstorm GDP running to midnight

Chicago O'Hare, already operating under a federal flight cap of 2,708 daily operations extended through October 2027, went into a ground delay program this evening that FlightCheck shows averaging 1 hour 45 minutes due to thunderstorms. The FAA's ops plan lists ORD's GDP running through 11:59 PM ET, with departure delays of 16 to 30 minutes from weather. The ops plan also notes that "deviations continue to occur within C90's airspace due to the weather in the southern portion of their airspace," referring to the Chicago TRACON.

Atlanta had a thunderstorm ground stop from 5:53 to 6:15 PM ET (ADVZY 135, 2,213 flights, 89-minute average, 236-minute max) that was cancelled at 5:59 PM ET because "AAR increased, weather diminished on NE arrival feeds" (ADVZY 143). Atlanta then went into a GDP, but only for Delta and Delta subsidiaries, at the airline's own request (ADVZY 144, 6:05 PM ET, arrivals through 10:59 PM ET, 45-minute average, 131-minute max). Other carriers are not included in the Atlanta GDP.

Nashville had a thunderstorm ground stop from 4:18 to 5:45 PM ET (ADVZY 128, 1,498 flights, 47-minute average) that was cancelled at 5:40 PM ET (ADVZY 140). Orlando's ground stop from 3:58 to 5:15 PM ET (ADVZY 125, 2,620 flights, 82-minute average) was cancelled at 4:59 PM ET (ADVZY 133).

South Florida is boxed in by a convective complex over the peninsula

The FAA's ops plan (ADVZY 151) reports that "departures out of South Florida continue to have difficulties departing to the north and west, but the routings along the East Coast are open." An earlier ops plan (ADVZY 139, 5:40 PM ET) said Miami Center "encourages all users departing South Florida to utilize the AR routes and Gulf routes as much as possible due to the large convective complex over the Florida peninsula."

FlightCheck shows the downstream effects: Orlando departure delays of 1 hour 1 minute to 1 hour 15 minutes due to thunderstorms, Miami departure delays of 31 to 45 minutes due to weather, and Fort Lauderdale departure delays of 16 to 30 minutes due to weather. The FAA also lists diversion recovery programs active for MCO, TPA, MIA, FLL, and DJT through 11 PM ET, meaning the system is still clearing aircraft that were diverted earlier in the afternoon.

SFO extended to 3 AM, Las Vegas staffing is back

San Francisco's ground delay program was extended this afternoon (ADVZY 134, signed 5:07 PM ET) from its original 6:59 PM ET end time to 2:59 AM ET Saturday. The cause is "procedural compliance and runway construction" (01R/19L), not weather, with the program running at a rate of 36 arrivals per hour and averaging 1 hour 4 minutes. San Diego's volume GDP continues through 12:59 AM ET, averaging 27 minutes.

Las Vegas, which cleared its overnight staffing GDP at 3:59 AM ET, is back in staffing trouble. FlightCheck shows LAS departure delays of 1 hour 1 minute to 1 hour 15 minutes due to staffing, and the FAA's ops plan lists a Las Vegas ground stop or delay program as POSSIBLE through 10 PM ET. The L30 TRACON staffing trigger is active until 3 AM ET. Las Vegas was the only major U.S. airport in a GDP overnight, and the same L30 staffing gap that drove that program is constraining departures again tonight.

The staffing floor keeping GDPs running past sunset

Seven ATC facilities are under staffing triggers tonight, per the FAA ops plan:

The staffing triggers matter because they explain why GDPs are running past sunset on a day when the thunderstorm window is diurnal and should be winding down. Teterboro's 3.5-hour GDP is the clearest example: the weather in the Northeast is convective and passing, but the ZBW Area C, ZBW Area E, and PHL Area C staffing constraints are keeping the arrival rate capped regardless of whether storms are overhead. The same dynamic held Newark in a multi-hour GDP two nights ago after weather cleared, when PHL Area C staffing was the binding constraint.

The structural shortage behind these triggers is roughly 3,000 controllers short of target, with the FAA calling it a national safety concern this spring. New controllers take 3 to 5 years to certify, so the gap will not close this summer.

Rebooking basics

Delta's New York thunderstorm waiver covers EWR, HPN, JFK, and LGA for travel July 16 through 18, with rebooking through July 21 in the same cabin and cities (Delta travel alerts). The Great Lakes smoke waivers from American, Delta, United, and Southwest (covering Detroit, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, and Toronto) remain active through the weekend, but no airline has issued a waiver for Philadelphia, San Francisco, DCA, or O'Hare despite all four having active GDPs tonight.

If your flight is cancelled and you decline the airline's rebooking offer, you are entitled to a full cash refund to your original payment method under DOT rules, not a voucher or travel credit. Credit card refunds must be issued within seven business days.

For connections through O'Hare, New York, or Southern California tonight, build at least 90 minutes between flights. Check nasstatus.faa.gov for active ground stops and delay programs before leaving for the terminal. The FAA's next planning webinar is at 9:15 PM ET, which could revise these programs.