What the U.S. ground stop means for Costa Rica–U.S. flights

Q COSTA RICA — A nationwide United States ground stop is disrupting travel between Costa Rica and the United States on Friday, leaving passengers with uncertain departure times at both ends of the route.

Flights from Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría (San José) International Airport (SJO) and Guanacaste Airport in Liberia (LIR) to the United States are subject to significant delays, gate holds, or cancellations.

According to the FAA advisory, international arrivals are being cleared on a case-by-case basis depending on airspace and airport capacity.

In Costa Rica, the disruption is already visible at San José Airport. Airport operator Aeris said six arrivals and four departures scheduled for Friday afternoon and evening were subject to the suspension being lifted. It did not identify the airlines or routes involved and had not reported definitive cancellations.

At Liberia’s Guanacaste Airport, the operator reported five aircraft on the ground and two flights still expected to arrive as of 4:15 p.m. local time. It was awaiting airline instructions on departures bound for the United States, according to La Nación.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said the agency had no indications of outages being tied to a cyberattack or potential terror threat, adding that the nationwide ground stop was “just a telecommunications outage.”

— Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower) November 13, 2026

What the ground stop means for Costa Rica–U.S. flights

The FAA order directly prevents flights from departing U.S. airports, including services bound for Costa Rica. A flight that has not left the United States cannot arrive in Costa Rica on schedule; if that aircraft is meant to operate a later return trip, the delay can carry over to passengers flying north.

For flights departing Costa Rica for the United States, the distinction is important: the FAA advisory does not announce a blanket ban on every inbound international flight. It says those flights will be managed individually. At the San José airport, though, Aeris said scheduled U.S.-bound flights must remain on the ground while the suspension continues, as reported by La Nación.

Travelers should not assume either that their flight is cleared or that it has been canceled.

The disruption may outlast the ground stop itself.

Aircraft and crews delayed in the United States can be unavailable for later Costa Rica departures, and airlines will need time to reset schedules. For now, the most reliable update for a specific journey is its status with the operating airline.

There is no verified restart time or flight-by-flight clearance list in the information available for this report.

If you are scheduled to fly between Costa Rica and the U.S. today or tonight, check directly with your airline via their mobile app or website for real-time gate updates and rebooking waivers before heading to the airport. You can also monitor live airspace developments on the Flightradar24 Live Blog.

FAA Advisory 2026-11-13 20:54

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for all aircraft destined for US airports. The FAA cites an equipment outage affecting air traffic control frequencies.

DUE TO EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES AND FOR REASONS OF SAFETY. ATTENTION ALL AIRCRAFT OPERATORS, BY ORDER OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION COMMAND CENTER ALL AIRPORTS ARE GROUND STOPPED. ALL DEPARTING TRAFFIC SHOULD REMAIN GROUND STOPPED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. INBOUND INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS WILL BE MANAGED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.