What happened
AI-written · may contain mistakes. Written from the advisory text and weather only.
Cause: Thunderstorms and wind shear near Chicago O'Hare made it unsafe to keep departing flights moving, so air traffic control paused them.
A ground stop halted departures from Chicago O'Hare at 23:13 UTC on October 15, 2026, with flights held at five air traffic control centers. It ended at 00:01 UTC on October 16, after 48 minutes. Air traffic control said a ground delay program would likely follow.
Impact by airline
Flights to and from ORD delayed 30+ minutes during the ground stop and the hour after it.
- Delayed 30+ min
- 78
- Arrivals / departures
- 45 / 33
| Airline | Delayed | Avg delay | On ground | Holding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AA | 23 | 61 min | 21 | — |
| United Airlines UA | 17 | 60 min | 42 | — |
| SkyWest Airlines OO | 14 | 70 min | 17 | — |
| Envoy Air MQ | 8 | 43 min | 4 | — |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 6 | 47 min | 3 | — |
| GoJet Airlines G7 | 2 | 53 min | 3 | — |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 2 | 31 min | 1 | — |
| Republic Airways YX | 1 | 62 min | 3 | — |
| Air Canada AC | 1 | 90 min | — | — |
| British Airways BA | 1 | 33 min | — | — |
| Lufthansa LH | 1 | 50 min | — | — |
| Icelandair FI | 1 | 42 min | — | — |
| Turkish Airlines TK | 1 | 83 min | — | — |
Delayed 30+ minOn ground / holding: most seen at once.
Held at origin
Flights to ORD still on the ground at their origin 15+ minutes past their scheduled departure while the stop is in effect; now as of Oct 15, 7:00 PM CDT. Held time is minutes past the scheduled departure.
- Held now
- 20
- Held during the stop
- 20
- Average held
- 1 hr 7 min
- Longest
- 3 hr 2 min
7 from airports in the stop's scope; 13 from outside it, late for other reasons.
By origin
| Origin | Scope | Now | Held | Avg | Longest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSP Minneapolis | In scope | 2 | 2 | 53 min | 1 hr 5 min |
| DTW Detroit | In scope | 1 | 1 | 2 hr 15 min | 2 hr 15 min |
| ICT Wichita | In scope | 1 | 1 | 40 min | 40 min |
| MCI Kansas City | In scope | 1 | 1 | 2 hr 45 min | 2 hr 45 min |
| OMA Omaha | In scope | 1 | 1 | 30 min | 30 min |
| TUL Tulsa | In scope | 1 | 1 | 45 min | 45 min |
| ATL Atlanta | Outside | 2 | 2 | 42 min | 49 min |
| ALB Albany | Outside | 1 | 1 | 37 min | 37 min |
| BWI Baltimore | Outside | 1 | 1 | 50 min | 50 min |
| CID | Outside | 1 | 1 | 47 min | 47 min |
| DCA Arlington | Outside | 1 | 1 | 1 hr 27 min | 1 hr 27 min |
| FAR | Outside | 1 | 1 | 45 min | 45 min |
| JAX Jacksonville | Outside | 1 | 1 | 3 hr 2 min | 3 hr 2 min |
| LAF | Outside | 1 | 1 | 1 hr 57 min | 1 hr 57 min |
| MEM Memphis | Outside | 1 | 1 | 35 min | 35 min |
By airline
| Airline | Now | Held | Avg | Longest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines OO | 5 | 5 | 54 min | 1 hr 57 min |
| United Airlines UA | 5 | 5 | 1 hr 29 min | 3 hr 2 min |
| American Airlines AA | 3 | 3 | 53 min | 1 hr 27 min |
| Envoy Air MQ | 2 | 2 | 1 hr 46 min | 2 hr 45 min |
| GoJet Airlines G7 | 2 | 2 | 43 min | 45 min |
| Air Canada AC | 1 | 1 | 1 hr 10 min | 1 hr 10 min |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 1 | 1 | 1 hr 5 min | 1 hr 5 min |
| Republic Airways YX | 1 | 1 | 41 min | 41 min |
Inbound in the air and diversions
Flights to ORD that had departed and not yet landed, at each arrivals board sample while the stop was in effect, and inbound flights that landed somewhere else instead.
- Diverted
- 0
Diversions
No inbound flight has been seen diverting during this stop.
Impact by region
Delayed arrivals by the air traffic control center they departed from. Held: departures from that center were stopped.
| Center | Status | Delayed |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Center (ZOB) | Held | 5 |
| Indianapolis Center (ZID) | Held | 2 |
| Kansas City Center (ZKC) | Held | 1 |
| Minneapolis Center (ZMP) | Held | 1 |
| Chicago Center (ZAU) | Held | 0 |
| Outside the US centers | Not held | 19 |
| Boston Center (ZBW) | Not held | 3 |
| Jacksonville Center (ZJX) | Not held | 3 |
| Washington Center (ZDC) | Not held | 2 |
| Los Angeles Center (ZLA) | Not held | 2 |
| Atlanta Center (ZTL) | Not held | 2 |
| Denver Center (ZDV) | Not held | 1 |
| Miami Center (ZMA) | Not held | 1 |
| Memphis Center (ZME) | Not held | 1 |
| New York Center (ZNY) | Not held | 1 |
| Seattle Center (ZSE) | Not held | 1 |
Aircraft at the airport
Peak 114 on the ground, 0 holding nearby.
On the ground Holding nearby
Timeline
Every change published while the ground stop was in effect, as seen each minute.
Ground stop issued at ORD for thunderstorms, until 7:00 pm CDT. Departures held from ZAU, ZOB, ZKC, ZID and 1 more.
Ground stop ended after 48 min.
Advisories
The air traffic control advisories issued for this ground stop, as published.
ATCSCC ADVZY 092 ORD/ZAU 10/15/2026 CDM GROUND STOP
CTL ELEMENT: ORD ELEMENT TYPE: APT ADL TIME: 2306Z GROUND STOP PERIOD: 15/2300Z - 16/0000Z DEP FACILITIES INCLUDED: (Manual) ZAU ZOB ZKC ZID ZMP CYHZ CYOW CYUL CYYZ PREVIOUS TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 0 / 0 / 0 NEW TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 974 / 58 / 28 PROBABILITY OF EXTENSION: MEDIUM IMPACTING CONDITION: WEATHER / THUNDERSTORMS COMMENTS: TSTMS/WIND SHEAR. EXPECT GDP TO FOLLOW.Original advisory ↗