Is there a ground stop at DEN today?
No ground stop at DEN right now (as of 2:54 PM MST, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for Denver International Airport. In the last 12 months the FAA issued 121 ground stops and 55 ground delay programs for DEN, most often for thunderstorms, holding flights on 104 days.
Live FAA delay status for Denver International Airport (KDEN, Denver, CO): ground stops, ground delay programs and delays right now, what the FAA has listed for DEN recently, and how often flights here actually run late.
No: the FAA is not reporting a ground stop at DEN right now.
FAA NAS Status lists no ground stop, ground delay program, or delay event for Denver Intl. Checked Nov 6, 2026 · 2154Z (2:54 PM MST); this page refreshes about every two minutes.
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Why DEN gets delayed
Denver is the largest airport in the country by land area, with six runways, so it rarely runs out of room. What it runs into is weather that moves fast. Of the 171 FAA programs for DEN between October 2025 and October 2026, 47% were for thunderstorms and 26% for wind. Front Range storms fire in the afternoon, and 83% of Denver's ground delay programs started between 2 and 6 PM.
Stops are brief: the typical one ran 1 h 20 min and the longest of the year only 3 h 27 min. Ground delay programs last longer, about 3 h 16 min, and the winter versions can drag. Snow kept one running 12 h 24 min on March 6, 2026, and wind another 10 h 54 min on February 17.
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 DEN delays usually last
Every FAA ground stop and ground delay program for DEN from Nov 6, 2025 to Nov 5, 2026, rebuilt from the FAA Command Center's own advisories.
Ground delay programs
55Ground stops
121Flights to DEN were held by at least one FAA program on 104 days in the last year. 66% of the stops and programs began between 2 PM and 6 PM local time.
What triggered them
DEN ground stops and delay programs by month
| Month | Ground stops | Delay programs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| January 2026 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| February 2026 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| April 2026 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| May 2026 | 20 | 4 | 24 |
| June 2026 | 14 | 4 | 18 |
| July 2026 | 12 | 7 | 19 |
| August 2026 | 27 | 15 | 42 |
| September 2026 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| October 2026 | 11 | 7 | 18 |
| November 2026 to dateplus Nov 6-30, 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
The busiest month was August, with 42 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 DEN, rebuilt daily by ATIS Alerts.
Best time of day to fly out of DEN
Airline departures scheduled before 9 AM left on time 91% of the time, against 62% for those scheduled 6 to 9 PM. By weekday, Wednesday was the most reliable (79%) and Friday the least (73%). BTS on-time data, June 2025 to May 2026; on time = within 15 minutes.
Recent FAA events at DEN
Ground stops and delay programs the FAA has listed for DEN in the last 90 days, from ATIS Alerts' own log of FAA NAS Status.
- Arrival DelaysOct 31, 2026 · 1610Z (10:10 AM MDT)lasted 1h 20m · zdv / wx:low visibility · avg delay 15 min
- Arrival DelaysOct 31, 2026 · 1240Z (6:40 AM MDT)lasted 30 min · zdv / wx:low visibility · avg delay 45 min
- Arrival DelaysOct 31, 2026 · 1205Z (6:05 AM MDT)lasted 30 min · zdv / wx:low visibility · avg delay 30 min
- Arrival DelaysOct 30, 2026 · 1540Z (9:40 AM MDT)lasted 15 min · zdv / wx:low visibility · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 27, 2026 · 1450Z (8:50 AM MDT)lasted 1h 20m · rwy:construction · avg delay 15 min
- Ground StopOct 27, 2026 · 1352Z (7:52 AM MDT)lasted 1h 23m · low visibility
- Arrival DelaysOct 27, 2026 · 1250Z (6:50 AM MDT)lasted 2h 10m · zdv / wx:fog · avg delay 60 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 27, 2026 · 0600Z (12:00 AM MDT)lasted 51 min · other · avg delay 50 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 23, 2026 · 2200Z (4:00 PM MDT)lasted 4h 26m · runway construction · avg delay 66 min
- Ground StopOct 23, 2026 · 1630Z (10:30 AM MDT)lasted 1h 6m · wind
- Departure DelaysOct 23, 2026 · 1445Z (8:45 AM MDT)lasted 30 min · wx:wind · avg delay 15 min
- Ground StopOct 23, 2026 · 1342Z (7:42 AM MDT)lasted 1h 19m · wind
- Ground StopOct 23, 2026 · 0054Z (6:54 PM MDT)lasted 1h 2m · runway construction
- Departure DelaysOct 22, 2026 · 2250Z (4:50 PM MDT)lasted 40 min · rwy:construction · avg delay 15 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 22, 2026 · 2230Z (4:30 PM MDT)lasted 3h 26m · runway construction · avg delay 48 min
- Ground StopOct 22, 2026 · 2135Z (3:35 PM MDT)lasted 1h 10m · runway construction
- Ground StopOct 15, 2026 · 1400Z (8:00 AM MDT)lasted 1h 6m · low ceilings
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 14, 2026 · 2200Z (4:00 PM MDT)lasted 4h 51m · low ceilings · avg delay 61 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 14, 2026 · 1530Z (9:30 AM MDT)lasted 1h 51m · runway construction · avg delay 30 min
- Ground StopOct 12, 2026 · 2354Z (5:54 PM MDT)lasted 1h 21m · runway construction
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 12, 2026 · 2145Z (3:45 PM MDT)lasted 5h 11m · runway construction · avg delay 56 min
- Ground StopOct 12, 2026 · 1400Z (8:00 AM MDT)lasted 1h 16m · runway construction
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 11, 2026 · 2145Z (3:45 PM MDT)lasted 2h 6m · runway construction · avg delay 33 min
- Ground StopOct 6, 2026 · 1352Z (7:52 AM MDT)lasted 1h 4m · runway construction
- Ground StopOct 5, 2026 · 1415Z (8:15 AM MDT)lasted 1h 6m · runway construction
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 DEN delayed?
Airline on-time performance at DEN, Jun 2025 to May 2026, from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
318,657 scheduled airline arrivals and 318,679 departures in the period. Best month: Nov 2025 (85.4% on time); worst: Jul 2025 (67.8%). 37% 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 29,433 arrivals.
What caused the delays
- 33%Late-arriving aircraft
- 31%Airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling)
- 30%National Airspace System (ATC, volume, non-extreme weather)
- 6%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 KDEN right now
Weather drives most ground stops: thunderstorms, low ceilings, wind and snow.
METAR KDEN 062053Z 02003KT 10SM FEW090 FEW140 BKN220 14/M02 A3017 RMK AO2 SLP189 T01441022 56011
DEN ground stop FAQ
Is there a ground stop at DEN today?
No ground stop at DEN right now (as of 2:54 PM MST, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for Denver International Airport. This page rechecks the FAA's NAS Status feed about every two minutes.
How do I know if DEN 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 Denver Intl; green means it does not. The official source is nasstatus.faa.gov.
How many ground stops has DEN had in the last year?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 121 ground stops and 55 ground delay programs for DEN, most often for thunderstorms, holding flights on 104 days. Source: the FAA Command Center's advisory database (fly.faa.gov).
How long do ground stops at DEN last?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 121 ground stops for DEN. The typical one lasted 1 h 18 min, and the middle half ran 1 h 4 min to 1 h 52 min. Ground delay programs run longer: 55 of them, typically 3 h 17 min with an average delay of 61 minutes.
Does a ground stop mean my flight is cancelled?
No. It means departures to DEN 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.