FAA daily air traffic report: September 22, 2025
Thunderstorms, low clouds, and special-use airspace will influence operations across several hubs on September 22, 2025. The FAA highlights potential delays in South Florida, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Memphis, and Denver, with morning ceilings in Los Angeles and San Diego. New York traffic faces temporary restrictions linked to the United Nations General Assembly, and two commercial space launches may prompt brief coastal closures near Vandenberg and Wallops Island.
Key Points
- Why it matters: Weather, VIP TFRs, and launches can ripple nationwide through routes and connections.
- Travel impact: Delays are possible at LAX, SAN, MIA, FLL, MCO, TPA, DTW, MDW, ORD, IAH, HOU, MEM, and DEN.
- What's next: Evening UNGA restrictions may drive reroutes off the Northeast coast and across Atlantic corridors.
Snapshot
The FAA's morning outlook calls for convective slowdowns across Florida, the Upper Midwest, Texas, and the Rockies, plus low ceilings in Southern California. Boston may see construction-related initiatives later today. DFW started the day with a thunderstorm-driven ground stop that ATCSCC expected to lift quickly. Expect potential ground stops or delay programs this afternoon at Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, Houston Intercontinental, Houston Hobby, Denver, and possibly Los Angeles and San Diego in the morning hours. En-route, planners flag possible closures of Atlantic Y-routes and segments of Gulf routes, with capping and tunneling procedures in several centers.
Background
The FAA Daily Air Traffic Report is a planning snapshot for travelers and airlines, summarizing likely constraints from weather, construction, space operations, and security events. Today's picture includes the UN General Assembly in New York, which triggers VIP temporary flight restrictions and added screening for certain operations, plus expected reroutes around the New York Oceanic interface. Commercial space activity at Vandenberg Space Force Base and Wallops Island adds short, localized windows of restricted airspace. Separately, persistent airport construction continues to affect select taxiways and runways, notably at Minneapolis-St. Paul, LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy, O'Hare, Tampa, Indianapolis, Orlando, San Francisco, Boston, and San Diego. These factors, layered on summer-like convection, may create cascading delays across hubs and downline connections.
Latest Developments
Storms, low ceilings, and targeted terminal programs
ATCSCC lists terminal initiatives for Florida airports, Houston Intercontinental and Hobby, Denver, and Boston, with Los Angeles and San Diego added for possible morning actions due to low ceilings. Detroit, the Chicago terminals, and Memphis are also under convective watch. A DFW ground stop began the morning but was expected to fall off within about an hour. The national daily report aligns with that risk map, calling out MIA, FLL, MCO, TPA, DTW, MDW, ORD, IAH, HOU, MEM, DEN, LAX, and SAN for potential impacts. Travelers should expect off-schedule gate holds, miles-in-trail, and arrival-route constraints as storms pulse through the afternoon.
UN General Assembly brings evening TFRs and reroutes
New York's UN General Assembly drives a VIP TFR this evening into the overnight, with planners expecting northbound and oceanic reroutes and no general aviation via LENDY during the TFR period. NBAA's impact summary and FAA TFR graphics show specific times and affected airfields, while ATCSCC anticipates closures or restrictions on oceanic routes and Atlantic Y-routes as traffic is rebalanced. Expect knock-on effects for flows into and out of Boston, New York, and adjacent centers.
Space launches and ongoing construction
Two launch windows could prompt brief coastal constraints, a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, and Rocket Lab's "JENNA" from Wallops Island. Construction advisories continue, including MSP's Runway 12R/30L closure, LGA nightly runway and taxiway work, JFK taxiway projects, O'Hare east-side taxiways, TPA Runway 01R/19L closure, IND Runway 05L/23R closure, MCO Runway 18R/36L closure, SFO Taxiway Z rehabilitation, BOS Runway 09/27 closure, and ongoing phases at SAN. Verify NOTAMs before travel, since work windows can shift with weather.
Analysis
Today's constraints concentrate in predictable weather belts, Florida and the Gulf Coast during peak heating, plus upslope-driven storms near Denver. That means hub-and-spoke networks will feel uneven pressure, with South Florida arrivals most likely to see airborne holding and minor miles-in-trail, then program escalation if cells anchor over terminal areas. Chicago and Detroit are more timing-sensitive; if lines move through outside banks, impacts stay moderate, but a poorly timed squall line can cascade across evening connections. UNGA creates a second axis of friction. The VIP TFR itself mainly affects GA and certain commercial operations, but reroutes tug traffic off common oceanic tracks, which can lengthen flight times and compress later banks into tighter runway queues at Boston and New York. Add localized launch windows on both coasts and routine construction, and you have a day where buffers matter. Carriers will try to preserve completion factors, so watch for preemptive swaps of routings, aircraft, or crews as they hedge against rolling convective risk.
Final Thoughts
If you are connecting through South Florida, Houston, or Denver this afternoon, pad your plans and monitor your airline app. Evening flights touching the New York area may take longer routings during the UNGA TFR. Morning Southern California travelers should account for low ceilings and possible minor programs. For trend context, compare today's advisory to our prior coverage in FAA Daily Air Traffic Report: September 21, 2025. Check NOTAMs if you are flying yourself, and always allow extra time on a day flagged by the FAA daily air traffic report.