Is there a ground stop at ASE today?
No ground stop at ASE right now (as of 6:49 PM MST, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field). In the last 12 months the FAA issued 21 ground stops and 25 ground delay programs for ASE, most often for traffic volume, holding flights on 39 days.
Live FAA delay status for Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field) (KASE, Aspen, CO): ground stops, ground delay programs and delays right now, what the FAA has listed for ASE recently, and how often flights here actually run late.
No: the FAA is not reporting a ground stop at ASE right now.
FAA NAS Status lists no ground stop, ground delay program, or delay event for Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field). Checked Nov 7, 2026 · 0149Z (6:49 PM MST); this page refreshes about every two minutes.
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Why ASE gets delayed
Aspen is a single-runway airport in a narrow mountain valley with a ski-season crowd of private jets, so most of its FAA programs are about how many airplanes can land per hour. Traffic volume caused 59% of the 46 programs for ASE in the 12 months to October 2026, and low clouds most of the rest.
The calendar tells the story. Ground delay programs ran on almost every day from December 19 to 28, again from January 1 to 5, over the Presidents' Day weekend in February, and on the March spring-break weekends. Nearly all of them (92%) started between 7 and 11 AM, when the morning arrival wave meets the valley's limits, and the typical one lasted about six and a half hours. Summer brought a dozen shorter ground stops in July and August.
Airline flights at Aspen were the least punctual of the airports we write about here: 69.5% on time and 6.3% cancelled in BTS data, with weather behind 17% of delay minutes.
Written by the ATIS Alerts team from FAA Command Center advisories (October 2025 to October 2026), BTS airline on-time data (June 2025 to May 2026) and 20 years of hourly weather observations. Updated October 2026.
How long ASE delays usually last
Every FAA ground stop and ground delay program for ASE from Nov 6, 2025 to Nov 5, 2026, rebuilt from the FAA Command Center's own advisories.
Ground delay programs
25Ground stops
21Flights to ASE were held by at least one FAA program on 39 days in the last year. 76% of the stops and programs began between 7 AM and 11 AM local time.
What triggered them
ASE ground stops and delay programs by month
| Month | Ground stops | Delay programs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 1 | 8 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| February 2026 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| March 2026 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| August 2026 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| September 2026 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November 2026 to dateplus Nov 6-30, 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The busiest month was February, with 11 ground stops and delay programs combined.
Source: FAA ATCSCC advisory database (fly.faa.gov), every ground stop and ground delay program advisory the FAA Command Center issued for ASE, rebuilt daily by ATIS Alerts.
Best time of day to fly out of ASE
Airline departures scheduled before 9 AM left on time 81% of the time, against 63% for those scheduled 3 to 6 PM. By weekday, Wednesday was the most reliable (79%) and Saturday the least (62%). BTS on-time data, June 2025 to May 2026; on time = within 15 minutes.
Recent FAA events at ASE
Ground stops and delay programs the FAA has listed for ASE in the last 90 days, from ATIS Alerts' own log of FAA NAS Status.
- Arrival DelaysNov 2, 2026 · 2100Z (2:00 PM MST)lasted 3h 20m · ase / wx:low ceilings · avg delay 15 min
- Arrival DelaysOct 14, 2026 · 0005Z (6:05 PM MDT)lasted 40 min · ase / wx:wind · avg delay 15 min
- Arrival DelaysOct 7, 2026 · 2315Z (5:15 PM MDT)lasted 10 min · zdv / wx:wind · avg delay 30 min
- Ground StopSep 24, 2026 · 2104Z (3:04 PM MDT)lasted 1h 32m · airport volume
- Airport ClosureSep 22, 2026 · 2005Z (2:05 PM MDT)lasted 1h 56m
- Airport ClosureSep 22, 2026 · 0501Z (11:01 PM MDT)lasted 7h 58m · !ase 09/133 ase ad ap clsd exc life flt hel and sar hel 30min ppr 970-379-8406 2609220500-2609221300
- Arrival DelaysSep 12, 2026 · 2142Z (3:42 PM MDT)lasted 10 min · ase / wx:wind · avg delay 23 min
- Ground StopAug 30, 2026 · 1915Z (1:15 PM MDT)lasted 1h · wind
- Ground Delay ProgramAug 20, 2026 · 1420Z (8:20 AM MDT)lasted 5h 4m · security · avg delay 161 min
- Departure DelaysAug 17, 2026 · 2324Z (5:24 PM MDT)lasted 2h 38m · wx:wind · avg delay 23 min
Durations are the time the FAA kept the event listed. Log complete from 2026-09-22; older rows are the last event of each type seen by the ATIS Alerts bot since 2026-07-22.
How often is ASE delayed?
Airline on-time performance at ASE, Jun 2025 to May 2026, from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
7,999 scheduled airline arrivals and 7,992 departures in the period. Best month: Nov 2025 (87.5% on time); worst: Dec 2025 (59.4%). 47% of arrival delay minutes were charged to weather or the National Airspace System, the categories a ground stop or ground delay program falls under.
On-time arrivals by month
Bar = share of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule; largest month had 1,188 arrivals.
What caused the delays
- 34%Airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling)
- 31%National Airspace System (ATC, volume, non-extreme weather)
- 18%Late-arriving aircraft
- 17%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
Shares of delay minutes on arrivals 15+ minutes late, as reported by the carriers to the DOT.
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline On-Time Performance (reporting carriers; regional, cargo, and general aviation flights are not included). Published about two months after each month ends.
Weather at KASE right now
Weather drives most ground stops: thunderstorms, low ceilings, wind and snow.
METAR KASE 070053Z 20006KT 10SM CLR 03/M01 A3031 RMK AO2 SLP238 T00281011
ASE ground stop FAQ
Is there a ground stop at ASE today?
No ground stop at ASE right now (as of 6:49 PM MST, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field). This page rechecks the FAA's NAS Status feed about every two minutes.
How do I know if ASE has a ground stop right now?
The banner at the top of this page reads the FAA's NAS Status feed about every two minutes. A red banner means the FAA currently lists a ground stop for Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field); green means it does not. The official source is nasstatus.faa.gov.
How many ground stops has ASE had in the last year?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 21 ground stops and 25 ground delay programs for ASE, most often for traffic volume, holding flights on 39 days. Source: the FAA Command Center's advisory database (fly.faa.gov).
How long do ground stops at ASE last?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 21 ground stops for ASE. The typical one lasted 1 h 19 min, and the middle half ran 1 h 14 min to 1 h 29 min. Ground delay programs run longer: 25 of them, typically 6 h 29 min with an average delay of 71 minutes.
Does a ground stop mean my flight is cancelled?
No. It means departures to ASE are held, not cancelled. Airlines cancel on their own when the backlog cannot be recovered, so watch your carrier's updates alongside this page.
⚠️ Informational only. FAA NAS Status is the authoritative source for delay programs; your airline or dispatch governs your flight. ATIS Alerts is not affiliated with the FAA.