# Air traffic control, phone systems and emails are all down following China’s AI espionage scandal — is there a common answer?

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2 outlets covering · First listed: Fortune, Nov 13, 2026, 7:29 PM · Read it: <https://fortune.com/2026/11/13/faa-ground-stop-microsoft-outage-china-espionage-national-security-sonnenfeld/>

The degradation of national security is real. The country deserves far more transparent answers than we have received so far.

AI summary (may contain mistakes): A nationwide FAA ground stop on Friday, which the FAA said was caused by a telecommunications outage, was later lifted. Air Space Intelligence denied that its SMART tool was linked to the ground stop, The Hill reported. The grounding disrupted travel plans for college and NFL teams, including Texas, Arizona State and Ole Miss.

## Who's covering it

In the order they published:

- Nov 13, 2026, 6:00 PM: [FAA grounds all U.S. flights days after expanding its AI air traffic system](<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/faa-grounds-all-u-s-flights-days-after-expanding-its-ai-air-traffic-system/>) — Scientific American (Magazine, United States)
  National ground stops of this kind are exceedingly rare
- Nov 13, 2026, 7:29 PM: [Air traffic control, phone systems and emails are all down following China’s AI espionage scandal — is there a common answer?](<https://fortune.com/2026/11/13/faa-ground-stop-microsoft-outage-china-espionage-national-security-sonnenfeld/>) — Fortune (Magazine, United States, rated Center)
  The degradation of national security is real. The country deserves far more transparent answers than we have received so far.