The FAA ordered U.S. departures held nationwide Friday. The agency said it would handle flights from Puerto Vallarta into the U.S. case by case.
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, November 13, 2026 – The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airports across the United States to hold all departures Friday afternoon, including flights bound for Puerto Vallarta. The agency said it would handle flights entering the United States from abroad on a case-by-case basis.
The FAA advisory stated “extraordinary circumstances” and safety concerns. It told airports to hold departures until further notice.
Shortly before the nationwide order, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago after air traffic controllers ran into communications problems, Reuters reported. The agency hadn’t said what prompted it to extend the halt across the country.
For travelers heading to Vallarta from the United States, the order meant planes still on the ground had to wait. For those flying the other way, whether a flight could leave Puerto Vallarta depended on how the FAA handled that arrival. Vallarta Daily couldn’t verify which local flights were delayed or canceled because of the order.
A nationwide halt is rare. In January 2023, the FAA held departures for about 90 minutes after the system that sends safety notices to flight crews went down. Airlines spent much of the day getting schedules back on track.
If you’re picking someone up, check the flight number on Puerto Vallarta airport’s arrivals board and confirm the landing time with the airline before leaving. As Vallarta Daily found during an earlier round of delays, the same plane can show up on the board under several flight numbers when airlines share a route.
