LIVE TRACKER · Aviation
Flight Delay Tracker: Live US Airport Delays & Ground Stops
Which US airports are delayed right now — and why?
Reopens Jul 20 at 03:59 UTC.
!EWR 06/034 EWR AD AP CLSD TO TRANSIENT GA ACFT EXC 24HR PPR 973-624-1660 2606060400-2607200359
Reopens May 28 at 16:00 UTC.
!LAX 05/277 LAX AD AP CLSD TO NON SKED TRANSIENT GA ACFT EXC 24HR PPR CTC ATLANTIC AVIATION 310-258-9884 OR SIGNATURE AVIATION 310-410-9605 2605271826-2705281600
Reopens Jul 29 at 23:00 UTC.
!LAS 04/141 LAS AD AP CLSD TO NON SKED TRANSIENT GA ACFT EXC 24HR PPR 702-261-7775 2604281710-2607292300
Reopens Oct 01 at 08:00 UTC.
!SAN 03/071 SAN AD AP CLSD TO NON SKED TRANSIENT GA ACFT EXC PPR 619-298-7704 2603181300-2610010800
Source: FAA NAS Status · US airports only · worst disruptions first · refreshes ~every 5 min.
When your flight slips from "on time" to "delayed," the first question is always why — and the second is how bad. This hub answers both. The block above lists every US airport under an FAA delay program right now, ranked worst-first, each tagged with the type of program and the reason behind it.
Open the live map and switch on the Flight Delays layer to see affected airports marked, then add the Flights layer to watch the aircraft themselves.
The three things that matter
Each card tells you what's happening at an airport in three pieces:
- Which airport — by its three-letter code and name.
- What kind of program — and they're not equal:
- Closure — the airport or a runway is shut. The most disruptive.
- Ground Stop — arriving flights are held at their origin because the destination can't take them yet. Usually severe weather or a blocked runway.
- Ground Delay — arrivals are metered with assigned later departure times to clear a backlog. The gentlest, and the most common.
- Arrival / Departure Delay — general congestion building at the airport.
- The reason — weather is the usual culprit, but you'll also see runway work, traffic volume, and equipment notes.
Weather is the story behind most delays
Strip away the jargon and the vast majority of these programs trace back to weather. A line of thunderstorms over a hub, low fog that slows the arrival rate, high winds, winter snow and ice — each shrinks how many aircraft an airport can safely handle per hour, and the delays cascade outward across the network from there.
That's why this hub pairs so naturally with the weather layers. If you see a ground stop somewhere, switch on the rain radar and the cause is often right there on the map. We dig into the mechanics in a set of explainers: how extreme heat grounds flights, how storms divert flights around the weather, how fog disrupts flights, and how the jet stream changes flight times even when the airport itself is clear.
For the bigger-picture "weather snarling the skies" view, the map's Grounded fusion turns on flight delays, rain radar and live flights together in one tap.
Using it well
The honest limit of this hub is that it's airport-level, not flight-level — so treat it as context, not a substitute for your airline app. What it does better than any airline app is the why and the where: at a glance you can see whether your whole airport is in trouble, what's causing it, and whether the weather driving it is moving toward you or away. That's often enough to know whether to rush to the gate or settle in for a wait.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my flight delayed?
The live block above lists every US airport currently under an FAA delay program, with the reason for each — most often weather, but also runway construction, heavy traffic volume, or equipment issues. Find your departure or arrival airport in the list to see if a program is in effect there. If your airport isn't listed, the delay may be specific to your aircraft or airline rather than a system-wide program, in which case your airline app is the better source.
What's the difference between a ground stop and a ground delay?
A ground stop is the more severe: flights bound for that airport are held on the ground at their origin, often because the destination can't accept arrivals right now (severe weather, a closed runway). A ground delay program is gentler — it meters arrivals by assigning later departure times to smooth out a backlog. Closures are the most severe, when an airport or runway is shut entirely. The tracker color-codes these so the worst disruptions stand out.
Does this show my specific flight?
No — and that's an important distinction. This tracks airport-level FAA programs, not individual flights. A green (clear) airport can still have a single delayed flight for reasons specific to that aircraft or crew. For your exact flight, use your airline's app. Use this hub to understand the bigger picture: whether the whole airport is struggling, and why.
Why are only US airports shown?
The data comes from the FAA's public NAS Status feed, which covers the US national airspace system. There isn't a single equivalent free, real-time feed for every country's airports, so we show the US accurately rather than patch together unreliable global coverage.
How current is this?
Very — the FAA status feed is fast-moving and this tracker refreshes every few minutes. Delay programs can start and end quickly as weather moves through, so it's worth refreshing if a storm is passing over a major hub.
SEE IT LIVE
Everything in this guide is on one real-time map.