WATCH: Rock band Hoobastank performs mid-flight for stranded passengers amid FAA ground stop while travelling for the Warped Tour

Flights were grounded across the US on Friday November 13, 2026 after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop citing “extraordinary circumstances”. Reuters reported that more than 15,000 flights were either cancelled or delayed following the outage.

According to the Associated Press, the ground stop which lasted more than four hours was the longest in 25 years. It was only the third such halt after a computer malfunction area led to one in January 2023 and the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Also read: FAA launched a new AI air traffic tool days before flights were grounded across the US: What is the new tool and was it behind the ground stop?

Hoobastank stage a concert for stranded passengers mid-flight

The rock band Hoobastank was flying to their Vans Warped Tour, scheduled for November 14 and 15 at the Camping World Stadium campus in Florida’s Orlando. The band staged an in-flight performance for passengers stuck with them.

Various clips shared on social media showed passengers singing along as the band performed their hit 2004 single ‘The Reason’. The Southwest Airlines flight departed from Los Angeles International Airport. According to Daily Voice, the flight was one of the last flights to take off before the ground stop was issued by the FAA.

Other rock bands, Simple Plan and The Used were also on the flight and treated passengers with ‘Perfect’ and ‘I’m Just a Kid’ and ‘The Taste of Ink’ respectively, the Daily Voice further reported.

Videos showed passengers raising their hands in the air and turning on their flash lights as they sang along and the lights turned down in the cabin.

Musician Lolo also shared a video on their Instagram Story, saying “Every plane was grounded today, but emo gods made sure this one flew”. Hoobastank re-shared the video on their account. Another user shared a video from the flight saying, “first in my bloodline to screen The Reason on a plane with Hoobastank”

What caused the flight ground stop?

According to the FAA, the ground stop was caused by a telecommunications outage which impacted 22 regional air traffic control systems. Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation said that the outage was caused by the overloading of switches and routers with data.

Thousand of passengers remained stranded at airports even as the ground stop was lifted. Many flights remind cancelled across the country into Saturday.