By Steve Griswold, Sandals & Beaches Chairman’s Royal Club Platinum Elite advisor at Pixie Vacations. Published November 14, 2026, 7:30 a.m. ET.
If you are flying to a Caribbean resort or a cruise port this weekend, here is where things stand the morning after the FAA ground stop. The Federal Aviation Administration halted every departure in the United States at 3:54 p.m. ET on Friday, November 13, 2026, and by 7:30 a.m. ET Saturday airlines had already cancelled 3,465 flights within, into or out of the U.S. for the day, with 1,255 more delayed (FlightAware). The stop lasted about four hours. The cleanup will last longer.
- Ground stop issued 3:54 p.m. ET Friday, lifted after about 4 hours. Cause: a telecommunications outage at air route traffic control centers. The FAA is still investigating.
- Friday night: more than 9,000 delays and 5,200 cancellations. Saturday by 7:30 a.m. ET: 3,465 U.S. cancellations and counting.
- Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando had 41% to 47% of Friday-evening departures disrupted, and 17 cruise ships sail from those three ports today.
- Six airlines are waiving change fees. Most cover travel on November 13–14 only; Southwest runs to November 16; rebooking windows end November 17–21.
What happened with the FAA ground stop on November 13?
At 3:54 p.m. ET the FAA ordered every U.S. airport ground-stopped “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it followed “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” Airborne flights continued to their next stop; inbound international flights were handled case by case. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called it a telecommunications outage, not an attack.
It was only the second nationwide ground stop since September 11, 2001. This one ran roughly four hours, the second-longest on record. Delta’s 9 p.m. statement is the sentence that matters for your weekend: “it will take time to reset our operation, including the positioning of aircraft and crews.” Planes and crews are out of place, so Saturday and Sunday schedules will keep changing.
The Caribbean angle is the airports. The three Florida hubs that feed most island flights and the big cruise ports took some of the hardest hits Friday evening.
| Airport (Friday, 8 p.m. ET) | Delayed | Cancelled | Share of departures hit | Ships sailing Saturday from the nearest port |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (MIA) | 253 | 72 | 41% | 7 at PortMiami |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 193 | 33 | 44% | 4 at Port Everglades |
| Orlando (MCO) | 232 | 60 | 47% | 6 at Port Canaveral |
Which airlines are waiving change fees, and until when?
The dates are tighter than people assume, so read the “covers travel on” column before you decide to wait it out.
| Airline | Covers travel on | Rebook for travel by | Fare difference? | Fine print |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American | Nov 13–14 | Nov 17 (change by Nov 14) | None if same cabin | Ticket bought by Nov 12; 21 airports listed |
| Delta | Nov 13–14 | Nov 21 | None if departing by Nov 21 | Or cancel for an eCredit |
| United | Nov 13–14 | Nov 20 | None, same cabin and cities | Bought by Nov 12; full refund if you cancel |
| JetBlue | Nov 13–14 | Nov 18 | None | Booked before Nov 13; groups of 10+ must call |
| Southwest | Nov 13–16 | Within 5 days of original date | None, same city pair | Refund if Southwest cancels or significantly delays |
| Frontier | Nov 13–15 | Not stated | May apply | Same cities; cancellations become credit minus fees |
Will my cruise ship wait for me?
Almost certainly not. As of Saturday morning no cruise line had announced a changed departure because of the ground stop, and lines do not typically hold a ship for delayed flights. Seventeen ships leave PortMiami, Port Everglades and Port Canaveral today, plus four from Galveston, whose Houston feeder airport had 48% of Friday departures disrupted.
If you board today and your flight is cancelled, get the earliest seat to any airport near the port, then ask the cruise line (or us) about joining at the first port of call. Many Saturday Caribbean departures spend Sunday at sea, so “meet the ship” is often a Monday flight to Cozumel, Nassau or San Juan. Keep every receipt for a trip-delay claim.
What we would do with a client flying this weekend
I hate wasting money, and the way people waste it in a disruption is by buying a brand-new ticket out of panic. Use the waiver first: every carrier above lets you move to another day at no fee, and five of the six eat the fare difference, usually the most expensive part of a peak-season change. Make the change in the app before your original departure time; the waivers require it, and phone lines were jammed Friday night.
For resort stays, the island flight is usually the easy part. Jamaica has more airlift than any other Sandals or Beaches island, so a missed Saturday connection to Montego Bay normally has a Sunday fix; Turks and Caicos has fewer seats, so a missed Providenciales flight can cost a day. If you lose a night, call your advisor and the resort the same day; lost nights are handled case by case.
One more date: Sandals Jamaica South Coast reopens Wednesday, November 18, 2026, so anyone booked for opening week flies in on the 17th or 18th, outside every waiver window. Check your flight Tuesday morning, not at the curb; if you connect through a Florida hub, a nonstop is worth a little more this once.
What this means if you’re booking or traveling
- Flying November 14: check the app before leaving for the airport; if cancelled, rebook inside the waiver in the app. Delta and United allow new dates through November 20–21 at no fare difference.
- Cruising November 14–16: get to the port city a day early if you still can; if you are already behind, ask about joining at the first port before you cancel. Our closest cruise port guide shows which islands each home port reaches first.
- Traveling November 17 or later: outside the waivers, inside the recovery. The flight-protection habits in our piece on what Caribbean travelers should do when an airline wobbles apply here too.
Want us to check it for your dates?
Planning with Pixie Vacations is free, with no fees, and we’ve stayed at every Sandals and Beaches resort. If your trip got tangled up on Friday, call 678-815-1584 or send us your dates and we’ll sort out the flights and the resort together.
Get my free quoteSee current Sandals offers
Have a fantastic vacation.
