ATIS Alerts

Is there a ground stop at TPA today?

Live FAA delay status for Tampa International Airport (KTPA, Tampa, FL): ground stops, ground delay programs and delays right now, what the FAA has listed for TPA recently, and how often flights here actually run late.

No ground stop

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

FAA NAS Status lists no ground stop, ground delay program, or delay event for Tampa Intl. Checked Sep 22, 2026 · 2034Z (4:34 PM EDT); this page refreshes about every two minutes.

Recent FAA events at TPA

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

1
Ground stops
0
Ground delay programs
1
Arrival / departure delays
0
Closures
Last ground stop: Sep 20, 2026 (thunderstorms), 1h 3mTypical ground stop: 1h 3mMost common cause: thunderstorms (100%)Days with a stop or program: 1
  • Ground StopSep 20, 2026 · 2110Z (5:10 PM EDT)lasted 1h 3m · thunderstorms
  • Departure DelaysSep 11, 2026 · 1844Z (2:44 PM EDT)lasted 2h 16m · wx:thunderstorms · 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 TPA delayed?

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

75.5%
arrivals on time (within 15 min)
77.3%
departures on time
18 min
average arrival delay, all flights
1.5%
arrivals cancelled

78,062 scheduled airline arrivals and 78,064 departures in the period. Best month: Sep 2025 (85.3% on time); worst: Jul 2025 (65.6%). 23% 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
69.0%
Jul
65.6%
Aug
74.0%
Sep
85.3%
Oct
78.3%
Nov
78.1%
Dec
71.4%
Jan 26
78.1%
Feb
80.1%
Mar
73.0%
Apr
80.1%
May
75.3%

Bar = share of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule; largest month had 7,674 arrivals.

What caused the delays

  • 46%Late-arriving aircraft
  • 31%Airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling)
  • 19%National Airspace System (ATC, volume, non-extreme weather)
  • 4%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 KTPA right now

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

VFRfrom the southwest (220°) at 5 kt · 10+ statute miles · scattered clouds at 3,500 ft, broken clouds at 6,000 ft, broken clouds at 25,000 ft
METAR KTPA 221953Z 22005KT 10SM SCT035 BKN060 BKN250 32/23 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP119 T03170233

Full KTPA weather, METAR, TAF and runway winds →

What a ground stop at TPA means

When the FAA issues a ground stop for Tampa 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 TPA 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

TPA ground stop FAQ

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

How long do ground stops at TPA last?

The ground stops we have recorded at TPA stayed listed for about 60 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 TPAare 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.