Kenya Airways has maintained its flight operations to and from the United States despite widespread disruption that delayed or cancelled more than 10,000 flights across the country on November 13, 2026.
The airline’s New York–Nairobi service operated during the disruption, while its scheduled flights continued into November 14 as US airlines worked to recover from the nationwide aviation crisis.
“There has been a temporary telecommunications outage – out of an abundance of caution, all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for, and international flights will be handled on a case-by-case basis,” the Federal Aviation Administration stated on November 13.
KQ3 departed New York before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop, though it left about 21 minutes behind schedule.
Kenya Airways KQ3 Departed Before FAA Ground Stop
Kenya Airways flight KQ3, which operates between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi, was scheduled to depart at 1:35 p.m. Eastern Time on November 13.
According to flight-tracking information, the aircraft left its departure gate at 1:56 p.m. and took off at 2:15 p.m., approximately 21 minutes after its scheduled gate departure.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was already airborne before the FAA announced its nationwide ground stop at 3:54 p.m. Eastern Time.
It was scheduled to arrive in Nairobi on November 14 at approximately 11:05 a.m.
Also Read: Kenya Airways Among Flights Affected as UK Cancels More Than 1,000 Flights
Beyond the KQ3 flight, departure records listed two other services carrying Kenya Airways flight numbers as cancelled or delayed.
KQ7300, operated by JetBlue under flight number B6 119 from New York to Atlanta and scheduled to depart at 10:45 a.m., was cancelled.
Another service, KQ7047, operated by Endeavor Air on behalf of Delta Air Lines as DL5119, from New York to Chicago, was delayed.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 10:55 a.m., but its revised departure time was listed as 12:27 p.m.
FlightStats subsequently recorded an actual gate departure at 1:31 p.m. after a delay of two hours and 36 minutes.
Airports and US Airlines Affected
During the flight disruption, Denver International Airport in Colorado recorded 1,009 disrupted flights, including 640 delays and 369 cancellations.
In North Carolina, Charlotte Douglas International Airport reported 545 delays, with average departure delays of nearly two hours.
In Florida, Miami International Airport recorded 646 affected flights, comprising 470 delays and 176 cancellations, while Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reported 448, including 348 delays and 100 cancellations.
The disruption also extended to Portland International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
Major airlines affected included American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue.
Also Read: Kenya Airways Warns Investors Hours After Cabinet Decision
US FAA Ground Stop Disrupts Thousands of Flights
The FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday, November 13, after a telecommunications failure affected air traffic control centres across the United States.
At approximately 3:54 p.m., the agency announced the restriction, temporarily preventing aircraft from departing US airports.
According to flight-tracking figures, the incident resulted in more than 6,600 cancellations and 8,600 delays.
The ground stop affected all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centres responsible for managing aircraft movements across the country.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the communications failure to problems involving the FAA’s ageing network, including overloaded switches and routers.
Officials, however, said there was no indication that a cyberattack caused the incident.
The FAA lifted the nationwide ground stop at 8:15 p.m. on Friday, more than four hours after it was introduced.
“The FAA lifted the ground stop, and some flight departures are resuming,” FAA confirmed.
Additionally, the FAA affirmed that before clearing flights to resume, it tested the system to ensure operations remain reliable.
Passengers were also advised to contact their airline for any flight updates.
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