Flight Delays And Airport Impacts: November 20, 2025

Published on Nov 20, 2025, 8:51 am CST

6 min read

Key points

Thunderstorms focus today's delay risk on Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, while low clouds may slow arrivals at San Francisco International Airport
The FAA's operations plan includes reroutes into Dallas Fort Worth and warns that a ground delay program is possible at San Francisco if ceilings stay low
Shutdown era flight cuts at 40 major airports have now been lifted, but record Thanksgiving travel demand leaves little slack for weather disruptions
Travelers connecting through Texas or San Francisco today should leave extra time, favor longer connections, and monitor airline alerts closely

Impact

Where Delays Are Most Likely: Expect holding, reroutes, and longer taxi times at Austin, Dallas Fort Worth, Dallas Love Field, Houston Bush, Houston Hobby, San Antonio, and San Francisco
Best Times To Fly: Early morning departures before storms peak in Texas or later evening flights after storms move east are likely to be less impacted
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Leave at least two to three hours for domestic connections through Texas or San Francisco, especially if you are on separate tickets
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check flight status repeatedly, enroll in airline alerts, and proactively rebook if your itinerary relies on tight connections through affected hubs

Thunderstorms over Texas and a stubborn deck of low clouds in Northern California are the main drivers of flight delays on Thursday, November 20, 2025, as the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Daily Air Traffic Report flags Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and San Francisco as today's risk hubs. With shutdown era flight cuts now lifted and the Thanksgiving travel window beginning in earnest, today's storms and low ceilings hit at a time when schedules are already packed and recovery options are limited.

In practical terms, travelers should expect periodic ground delays, airborne holding, and reroutes into the Texas hubs and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), plus knock on impacts for connections across the country.

Flight Delays And Airport Impacts For November 20

The FAA's Daily Air Traffic Report for Thursday calls out thunderstorms around Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), William P Hobby Airport (HOU), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), and San Antonio International Airport (SAT), along with low clouds at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

An overnight and early morning operations plan advisory from the Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) notes that routes are being issued to balance traffic on the west gates of Dallas Fort Worth, that Texas terminals may see further initiatives after late morning, and that San Francisco's low ceilings could require a ground delay program once arrival demand builds later in the morning Pacific time.

National Airspace System status pages show no widespread en route constraints, but they do reflect route requirements into the Dallas Fort Worth area and highlight today's convective weather and ceiling issues as the main limits on capacity rather than staffing.

Latest Developments

Across central and south central Texas, the National Weather Service (NWS) warns that a storm system will move across the region through early Friday, with a Flood Watch in effect through 6:00 a.m. CT Friday for portions of the Rio Grande, Southern Edwards Plateau, Hill Country, and the Interstate 35 corridor that links Austin and San Antonio. Forecast discussions point to locally heavy rainfall, embedded thunderstorms, and the potential for multiple rounds of storms, which is exactly the pattern that tends to trigger arrival and departure metering at busy hubs.

For Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, and San Antonio International Airport, that means the mid day and afternoon departure banks are most at risk for convective delays if storms sit over terminal routes or final approach paths. Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P Hobby Airport are likely to see similar effects if the line of storms shifts east across the metro area, compounding ordinary peak period congestion.

On the West Coast, observations and aviation forecasts for San Francisco International Airport show low cloud bases, mist, and intermittent light rain through the morning, with marine stratus likely to linger. When ceilings sit this low at San Francisco, the FAA typically reduces the arrival rate and, on busier days, can impose a formal ground delay program that pushes back departure times from origin airports to meter demand into the Bay Area.

At the same time, the systemic constraint that dominated the last several weeks, a shutdown related FAA order that forced airlines to cut flights at 40 major airports, has now been cancelled, allowing carriers to restore normal schedules heading into the peak Thanksgiving period.

Analysis

Background: The FAA Air Traffic Report is a daily planning snapshot from the agency's Command Center that highlights where weather or other factors are likely to disrupt the National Airspace System, and it is meant to help airlines and airports plan ground delay programs, reroutes, and staffing well before the first long lines appear at security.

With the shutdown era flight reduction order lifted and airlines ramping back to full schedules, the system no longer has spare capacity built in from forced cuts. That is good news for passengers who had been bumped or rebooked earlier this month, but it also means that today's weather has more flights to disrupt as Thanksgiving travel ramps up.

AAA projects that about 6 million travelers will fly over the Thanksgiving holiday period, while broader forecasts suggest roughly 80 million Americans will travel by all modes. American Airlines alone expects to operate nearly 81,000 flights from November 20 through December 2, with peak days on November 30 and December 1. In that context, today's Texas thunderstorms and San Francisco low clouds are not isolated nuisances; even modest metering at those hubs can soak up spare seats and leave stranded travelers with fewer options.

For travelers passing through Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, San Antonio International Airport, and the two major Houston airports, the practical risk is that thunderstorms will periodically shut down departure corridors or final approaches, triggering ground stops, miles in trail restrictions, or reroutes that add significant flight time. Flights arriving from Florida and other southeastern origins already face required routes into North Texas during the early afternoon window, which can compress schedules and reduce recovery options if storms flare over the terminals at the same time.

At San Francisco International Airport, the combination of a busy transcontinental schedule, a complex runway layout, and persistent low ceilings means that even a small reduction in arrival rate can quickly translate into 30 to 60 minute delays that ripple down the line to Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, and Chicago connections. Travelers whose itineraries depend on short connections through San Francisco today are exposed to a higher risk of missed onward flights, especially toward Hawaii and Asia where departures are less frequent.

From a strategy standpoint, the safest moves today are to favor earlier departures where possible, add extra buffer time for any connection through Texas or San Francisco, and avoid tight self connecting itineraries that involve separate tickets. If your itinerary is built around a mid day connection in Dallas Fort Worth, Houston, or San Francisco, it is worth checking whether your airline will allow a free same day change to an earlier flight before the storms or a later one after the worst of the weather passes, even if no formal waiver is posted.

Final Thoughts

Flight delays and airport impacts on November 20, 2025, are being driven less by lingering shutdown constraints and more by classic weather problems, specifically Texas thunderstorms and low clouds over San Francisco. With record Thanksgiving travel demand and full schedules back in place, even localized disruptions at Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Houston's big hubs, San Antonio International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport can quickly spill into the broader network.

If you are flying today, the simplest way to reduce your risk is to give yourself more time than you think you need, check your flight status often, and treat connections through the highlighted hubs as higher risk, especially in the afternoon and early evening.