Flight Delays and Airport Impacts: November 18, 2025

Published on Nov 18, 2025, 9:06 am CST

9 min read

Key points

FAA mandated flight cuts at 40 major US airports ended Monday, and today's operations plan shows no staffing driven initiatives in the system
As of around 7 a.m. Eastern, FlightAware data showed roughly 359 delays and 11 cancellations nationwide, far below shutdown era peaks
The FAA operations plan flags potential ground stops or delay programs this afternoon for Washington Reagan National, Phoenix, Las Vegas area airports, and San Francisco
Weather and construction constraints are focused on wind in the Northeast, low ceilings and mixed precipitation in the Upper Midwest and West, and runway work at several Florida and West Coast airports
Europe is contending with cold weather that has already produced more than 1,000 delays and dozens of cancellations across several major carriers and hubs
Travelers should leave extra buffer for connections through Washington, Chicago, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and European hubs, and know they now have stronger automatic refund rights for cancellations and long delays

Impact

Nationwide Capacity: With the FAA lifting mandated flight cuts at 40 major airports, airlines are operating closer to normal schedules again, so most disruptions today should come from weather, construction, and special events rather than staffing limits
Weather And Construction: Low ceilings, mixed rain and snow, and runway work at specific hubs raise the risk of metered arrivals, minor holding, and tactical reroutes, especially in the Upper Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and parts of Florida
Las Vegas And Phoenix: High volume traffic over Las Vegas for the Formula One period, combined with low ceilings around Phoenix and Las Vegas, makes these desert hubs prime candidates for afternoon ground stops or delay programs that can ripple across networks
Washington DC Corridor: A scheduled flyover near Washington keeps Reagan National in the FAA plan, where even a short ground stop window can stack up arrivals and departures and snag downline connections
Transatlantic Connections: Cold weather disruptions across multiple European hubs increase missed connection risk for US travelers who rely on Amsterdam, Paris, London, and other gateways for onward flights
Traveler Strategy: Building a generous connection buffer, monitoring FAA and airline tools, and using new automatic refund rules when flights are canceled or heavily delayed will materially reduce the chances of a trip unraveling today

The headline shift this week is structural rather than meteorological. After weeks of government shutdown driven constraints, the Federal Aviation Administration has now ended mandated cuts in domestic flights at 40 major airports, effective 6 a.m. Eastern on Monday, November 17. Airlines canceled only about a quarter of one percent of flights at those airports on Sunday, and the nationwide cancellation rate was roughly 0.36 percent, signs that operations are healing as staffing pressures ease.

Against that backdrop, November 18 opens as a comparatively normal day in the National Airspace System. The FAA's current operations plan shows no staffing triggers anywhere in the system and emphasizes that traffic into Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway remains manageable despite light rain and snow. As of about 7 a.m. on the East Coast, FlightAware data compiled for Florida outlets showed around 359 delays and 11 cancellations across flights into and out of the United States, a far cry from the ten thousand plus daily delays seen at the height of the shutdown crunch earlier in November.

For travelers, that means today is less about systemic breakdown and more about a handful of local pinch points, weather pockets, and ongoing construction projects that can still disrupt tight connections.

What the FAA operations plan is signaling

The FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center publishes a national operations plan that outlines expected constraints, from runway closures to possible ground delay programs. Today's plan, issued as Advisory 022 for November 18, runs from 13:00 Zulu onward and contains several key signals.

First, there are no staffing triggers listed anywhere in the system. That is a meaningful change from earlier in the shutdown, when controller absences forced ground stops at airports such as Newark and Washington Reagan National, and pushed the FAA to order percentage reductions in flights at 40 major hubs.

Second, the plan highlights a cluster of terminal weather constraints. Wind is expected to drive procedural limits around Boston, the New York metro airspace, and Newark. Low ceilings, showers, or snow are called out for Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago's terminal radar area, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, with Las Vegas also facing low visibility. Taken together, these conditions raise the likelihood of instrument approaches, extra spacing between arrivals, and occasional holding.

Third, the advisory keeps Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the plan because of a scheduled flyover around 1558 to 1613 Zulu. The Command Center notes that the Potomac Consolidated TRACON expects to handle this with miles in trail spacing if schedules do not change, but it still flags a possible ground stop at Reagan after 15:00 Zulu. Even a short halt can stack up departures, which matters if you are connecting through Washington on a tight layover.

Finally, the plan lays out a series of potential afternoon initiatives. After 1500 Zulu, ground stops or full ground delay programs are possible at Phoenix, Las Vegas, Henderson Executive, and North Las Vegas. San Francisco is also in the plan for a possible ground stop after 1600 Zulu. In the en route environment, convective weather is expected over the Kansas City and Memphis centers, and planners are watching for a partial airspace flow program over western Lake Erie. Alongside the weather, the FAA lists several space launches from Wallops Island and Florida, which can prompt tactical reroutes around temporary hazard areas.

Key US airports and likely pinch points

In the Mid Atlantic, Washington Reagan National is the obvious risk. The flyover window and any associated temporary flight restrictions can trigger a short ground stop, and even if this remains brief, it can snarl afternoon banks for flights up and down the East Coast. If you are connecting through Reagan today, give yourself more than the bare minimum connection time and treat any thirty minute delay as a potential missed connection risk.

In the desert Southwest, Las Vegas is the airport to watch most closely. The operations plan flags high volume operations in the Las Vegas terminal area from mid morning Pacific through November 25, on top of low ceilings and low visibility today. Harry Reid International, Henderson Executive, and North Las Vegas are all candidates for ground stops or full delay programs after mid morning. With Formula One related traffic and normal holiday buildup in play, outbound seats later in the day may be tight if programs are triggered.

Phoenix Sky Harbor is in a similar weather bucket, with low ceilings and a possible ground stop or delay program in the afternoon. Travelers should expect gate holds and arrival metering if clouds stay stubbornly low. Airlines can usually work through these programs over a few hours, but they are brutal for passengers who tried to save money with thirty or forty minute connections.

On the West Coast, Seattle Tacoma and San Francisco face low ceilings, and San Francisco is juggling that on top of ongoing taxiway rehabilitation and nearby runway work. The net effect is that even small variations in marine layer timing can produce arrival delays that spread along the West Coast corridor, especially on shuttle routes among Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and Portland.

In the Upper Midwest, Detroit and Minneapolis are dealing with low ceilings, reduced visibility, and precipitation, while Chicago is facing a mix of rain and light snow. The Command Center still describes O'Hare and Midway volumes as manageable and does not plan initiatives there, which suggests that while individual flights may see approach spacing or deicing delays, systemic disruption around Chicago should be limited.

The plan also lists a series of runway and taxiway closures that matter for Florida and West Coast travelers. Tampa has two runways closed, Orlando has one primary runway closed, Palm Beach is operating without its 14 or 32 runway, and San Diego continues a multi phase construction program. These restrictions reduce operational flexibility in rush periods, so a strong thunderstorm line or sudden wind shift could produce quicker than usual backups.

Global snapshot, especially Europe

Outside the United States, Europe is seeing its own weather driven drag on operations. A cold pattern with wintry conditions has led to at least 46 cancellations and around 1,002 delays across flights operated by Lufthansa, Swiss, Helvetic, and LEVEL, with disruptions touching hubs such as Amsterdam, Paris, Sarajevo, London, and airports in Germany. For US based travelers using these hubs as transatlantic gateways, the main risk today is missed or misconnected onward flights, especially if you are trying to link short European regional sectors to long haul returns.

That European backdrop matters even on a day when the US system is comparatively stable, because long haul aircraft and crews are global assets. A delayed rotation out of Amsterdam or Paris this morning can translate to a late departure from New York, Chicago, or Atlanta tonight, even if your local weather is benign.

What travelers should do today

On a day like this, the most useful tools are awareness and buffer, not panic. The FAA's delay information page and National Airspace System status site give a snapshot of whether your departure or arrival airport is under an active ground delay program or ground stop. Pair that with your airline's app, which is still the fastest way to see gate changes, rolling delays, and rebooking options when things slip.

If your flight is canceled, the rules in the United States have shifted meaningfully in your favor this year. Under new federal regulations, airlines must provide automatic cash refunds when a flight is canceled or significantly delayed beyond specific thresholds, rather than hiding behind vouchers or lengthy manual requests. The Department of Transportation's Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard lets you see, carrier by carrier, which amenities and rebooking commitments each airline offers when disruptions are within the airline's control.

Practically, that means three simple actions. First, build larger connection buffers than your booking engine suggests, especially if you are touching Washington, Chicago, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco, or a European hub with cold weather in the forecast today. Second, if your flight is canceled or massively delayed, prioritize securing a new seat first, then decide whether to accept rebooking, a voucher, or a refund, remembering that cash is now your default right in many scenarios. Third, document your delay and any out of pocket hotel or meal costs, because some airlines and credit cards will reimburse those when disruptions are within the carrier's control.

Final thoughts

With government shutdown driven capacity cuts now lifted, November 18 feels closer to a normal shoulder season day in the skies, even if the system is far from fully stress tested for the peak Thanksgiving surge. The FAA's operations plan shows an airspace network that is no longer being throttled by staffing triggers, yet still sensitive to pockets of low ceilings, construction, and high demand around Las Vegas, Phoenix, and a few coastal hubs.

For travelers, that combination is both an opportunity and a warning. The opportunity is that most itineraries should operate without the extreme cascade of shutdown era disruptions. The warning is that local programs at a handful of airports or weather troubles in Europe can still upend tight connections with little notice. A modest buffer, a clear understanding of your refund and rebooking rights, and a willingness to adjust around the day's hotspots will go a long way toward keeping November 18's trip on track.