ATIS Alerts

Is there a ground stop at PHL today?

Live FAA delay status for Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL, Philadelphia, PA): ground stops, ground delay programs and delays right now, what the FAA has listed for PHL recently, and how often flights here actually run late.

No ground stop

No: the FAA is not reporting a ground stop at PHL right now.

FAA NAS Status lists no ground stop, ground delay program, or delay event for Philadelphia Intl. Checked Sep 22, 2026 · 2033Z (4:33 PM EDT); this page refreshes about every two minutes.

Recent FAA events at PHL

Ground stops and delay programs the FAA has listed for PHL in the last 90 days, from ATIS Alerts' own log of FAA NAS Status.

1
Ground stops
1
Ground delay programs
1
Arrival / departure delays
1
Closures
Last ground stop: Sep 21, 2026 (equipment outage), 1h 9mTypical ground stop: 1h 9mMost common cause: equipment outage (100%)Days with a stop or program: 1
  • Ground StopSep 21, 2026 · 1952Z (3:52 PM EDT)lasted 1h 9m · equipment outage
  • Ground Delay ProgramSep 21, 2026 · 1628Z (12:28 PM EDT)lasted 6h 21m · equipment outage · avg delay 212 min
  • Departure DelaysSep 21, 2026 · 1449Z (10:49 AM EDT)lasted 8h 8m · eq:ocl: equipment · avg delay 68 min
  • Airport ClosureAug 4, 2026 · 2151Z (5:51 PM EDT)lasted 370h 1m · !phl 08/040 phl ad ap clsd to non sked acft wingspan more than 214ft and tail hgt more than 66ft. 2608042150-2609301200

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 PHL delayed?

Airline on-time performance at PHL, Jun 2025 to May 2026, from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

76.1%
arrivals on time (within 15 min)
76.1%
departures on time
22 min
average arrival delay, all flights
2.7%
arrivals cancelled

98,773 scheduled airline arrivals and 98,786 departures in the period. Best month: Apr 2026 (81.8% on time); worst: Jul 2025 (65.5%). 19% 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

Jun 25
68.9%
Jul
65.5%
Aug
74.6%
Sep
81.7%
Oct
78.5%
Nov
79.9%
Dec
72.5%
Jan 26
77.0%
Feb
78.5%
Mar
73.8%
Apr
81.8%
May
81.7%

Bar = share of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule; largest month had 9,304 arrivals.

What caused the delays

  • 47%Late-arriving aircraft
  • 34%Airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling)
  • 15%National Airspace System (ATC, volume, non-extreme weather)
  • 5%Extreme weather
  • 0%Security

Shares of delay minutes on arrivals 15+ minutes late, as reported by the carriers to the DOT.

Source: 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 KPHL right now

Weather drives most ground stops: thunderstorms, low ceilings, wind and snow.

VFRfrom the east-northeast (060°) at 10 kt · 7 statute miles · scattered clouds at 2,000 ft, overcast at 7,000 ft · -RA
SPECI KPHL 222016Z 06010KT 7SM -RA SCT020 OVC070 17/14 A3026 RMK AO2 P0000 T01720144 $

Full KPHL weather, METAR, TAF and runway winds →

What a ground stop at PHL means

When the FAA issues a ground stop for Philadelphia Intl, aircraft headed there are held at their departure airports until it lifts; flights already airborne continue, hold, or divert. It is the FAA's most severe traffic-management step short of closing the airport, and it is usually issued in 30 to 90 minute increments that get extended while the cause persists, then often converted into a ground delay program as conditions improve.

Passengers:your aircraft is probably sitting at its origin; the airline's "delayed" status usually resolves in waves after the stop lifts. Pilots: a stop at PHL ripples into the satellite airports and the whole TRACON; check the national board for programs at your alternate.

Terminology: ground stops explained · GDPs and EDCTs explained

PHL ground stop FAQ

How do I know if PHL 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 Philadelphia Intl; green means it does not. The official source is nasstatus.faa.gov.

How long do ground stops at PHL last?

The ground stops we have recorded at PHL stayed listed for about 75 minutes on average. Nationally, most stops run 30 to 90 minutes per issuance, but a stalled line of storms can keep one extended for hours.

Does a ground stop mean my flight is cancelled?

No. It means departures to PHLare 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.