Ground stop at Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), Oct 10, 2026

EndedStaffing shortage halts Phoenix departures for 16 minutes

Started: Sat, Oct 10, 3:10 PM MST22:10 UTC
Ended: Sat, Oct 10, 3:26 PM MST22:26 UTC
Duration: 16 min
Cause: STAFFING

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What happened

AI-written · may contain mistakes. Written from the advisory text and weather only.

Cause: Air traffic control staffing shortages at Phoenix led to departures being held so controllers could manage the traffic they had.

The ground stop began at 22:10 UTC on October 10, 2026, holding departures bound for Phoenix Sky Harbor from seven air traffic control centers. It was scheduled to run until 5:00 pm Mountain time but ended at 22:26 UTC, after 16 minutes.

Impact by airline

Aircraft seen on the ground at PHX and holding nearby, by airline.

Airline	On ground	Holding
American Airlines AA	16	—
Southwest Airlines WN	6	—
Envoy Air MQ	3	—
Frontier Airlines F9	2	—
SkyWest Airlines OO	2	—
Allegiant Air G4	1	—
Delta Air Lines DL	1	—
WestJet WS	1	—

Impact by region

Air traffic control centers whose departures to the airport were held.

Center	Status
Albuquerque Center (ZAB)	Held
Denver Center (ZDV)	Held
Fort Worth Center (ZFW)	Held
Houston Center (ZHU)	Held
Kansas City Center (ZKC)	Held
Los Angeles Center (ZLA)	Held
Oakland Center (ZOA)	Held

Aircraft at the airport

Peak 26 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.

Oct 10, 3:10 PM MST
Ground stop issued at PHX for staffing, until 5:00 pm MDT. Departures held from ZLA, ZHU, ZFW, ZDV and 3 more.
Oct 10, 3:26 PM MST
Ground stop ended after 16 min.

Advisories

The air traffic control advisories issued for this ground stop, as published.

ATCSCC ADVZY 083 PHX/ZAB 10/10/2026 CDM GROUND STOP

CTL ELEMENT: PHX
ELEMENT TYPE: APT
ADL TIME: 2207Z
GROUND STOP PERIOD: 10/2137Z - 10/2300Z
CUMULATIVE PROGRAM PERIOD: 10/2100Z - 11/0229Z
DEP FACILITIES INCLUDED: (1stTier+ZOA) ZLA ZHU ZFW ZDV ZOA ZKC ZAB
PREVIOUS TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 1666 / 156 / 52
NEW TOTAL, MAXIMUM, AVERAGE DELAYS: 2383 / 155 / 74
PROBABILITY OF EXTENSION: MEDIUM
IMPACTING CONDITION: STAFFING / STAFFING
COMMENTS: P50 & PHX ACTIVE STAFFING TRIGGERS.

Original advisory ↗

Where flights were held

Departures to PHX were held from 7 centers (1stTier+ZOA).

Chance of extension: MEDIUM

Weather at the time

METAR, weather alerts and SIGMETs at the airport during the stop.

When it started

VFR

METAR KPHX 102151Z 26008KT 10SM FEW047 SCT075 BKN090CB OVC130 26/18 A2967 RMK AO2 RAE20 TSE20 PRESRR SLP028 OCNL LTGCG DSNT NE AND SE CB SW MOV NE AND DSNT NE AND SE SHRA SW P0000 T02610183 $ · observed Oct 10, 2:51 PM MST

Wind Advisory · Wind Advisory issued October 10 at 12:02PM MST until October 11 at 5:00PM MST by NWS Phoenix AZ

Over the airport: Convective SIGMET 55W.

Latest during the stop

VFR

Wind Advisory · Wind Advisory issued October 10 at 12:02PM MST until October 11 at 5:00PM MST by NWS Phoenix AZ

Over the airport: Convective SIGMET 55W.

In the news

Headlines that mention this airport and the disruption. Links open the publisher.

Storms prompt FAA ground stop at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic · Oct 10, 1:42 PM MST
Dust storm, rain hit Phoenix area as Tropical Storm Rachel nears Baja California
AZ Family · Oct 10, 1:34 PM MST
Dust wall moving through the Valley; Sky Harbor issues ground stop due to thunderstorms
12News · Oct 10, 1:24 PM MST

Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) live status →Every ground stop at PHX →Replay Oct 10, 2026 on the map →Read the full advisory ↗What is a ground stop? →

How it is measured

Status, timeline, cause and held centers: the national airspace status feed, checked every minute, and the air traffic control advisories it links to.
Delays by airline and region: departures and arrivals at PHX 30 or more minutes late, by their estimated delay against the schedule, sampled every 10 minutes while the stop is active and once more after it ends.
Totals and cancellations: arrival and departure boards for PHX, every 30 minutes while active and once more after the end. Delayed means 15 or more minutes late at PHX; cancelled is the airline's cancelled status; codeshares count once. Flights scheduled from the start until an hour after the end are counted.
Held at origin: the same arrivals boards, which carry each flight's scheduled and actual departure from its origin. A flight is held when it is still scheduled, not departed, 15 or more minutes past its scheduled departure at a sample taken during the stop. In scope: its origin is in a held center or listed facility; flights from elsewhere are late for other reasons.
Inbound in the air: the same arrivals boards. At each board taken during the stop, a flight to PHX is in the air when it has departed (en route, or with an actual departure time) and not landed, cancelled or diverted; one still shown in the air over an hour past its arrival estimate, or departed more than 18 hours earlier, is treated as stale and left out.
Diversions: an inbound flight marked diverted during the stop or the wrap-up after it (not one marked before it could have departed), or one still shown in the air 30+ minutes past its arrival estimate that ADS-B (by its ICAO call sign) then found on the ground at another airport, not its origin. The diversion airport is the airport ADS-B found it at, else the updated destination. Cancellations never count. Regional flights flown under another call sign can't be found on ADS-B, so their diversion airport may be unknown.
Aircraft on the ground and holding: ADS-B positions around PHX, every 5 minutes; the airline is read from the call sign. Holding counts airline flights only (passenger, regional and cargo), not private, military or medical flights.
Weather: METARs, SIGMETs and weather alerts.
News: headline links filtered to this airport and these days; we show titles and links only.

Data sources are listed on the credits page.