Charlotte airport ground stop lifted again. Airline delays, cancellations top 800
The FAA ended its ground stop Monday afternoon at Charlotte’s airport, with flight delays and cancellations piling up as severe storms hit the region.
Around 35:30 p.m., the tracking site FlightAware reported452 cancellations and 388 delays, for a total of 843 flight disruptions at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
A ground stop was first issued at 8:29 a.m. and was scheduled to last until 10 a.m., the FAA said. It was extended until 11 a.m. before being lifted around that time. Another ground stop was issued at 10:52 a.m. and continued until noon. It was extended to 1 p.m., but ended early, according to the FAA’s website.
CLT is the sixth-busiest airport in the world, according to Airports Council International rankings. It is the second-largest hub for Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, which accounts for 90% of flights at Charlotte Douglas. CLT is advising passengers to check their flight statuses before heading to the airport, according to an X post.
Monday’s storm also impacted the Atlanta region, with a ground stop issued for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Other airports around the country also were seeing significant delays, including in Newark, New Jersey, and Ronald Reagan National Airport. In Detroit, the airport was closed.
Severe weather, power outages in the Charlotte area
While steady showers began earlier this morning, the National Weather Service expected the heaviest impacts were to hit around 10 a.m. A Tornado Warning was in place for the Charlotte region until 10:15 a.m. Monday due to a front of severe thunderstorms, the National Weather Service says.
Meanwhile, there were around 3,000 power outages in the Charlotte region as of noon, Duke Energy said.
The 13-county region was also under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 11 a.m., and the storms could last “several hours,” the NWS said.
Forecasters warn that the primary threats include damaging winds and isolated tornadoes, though hail remains a possibility throughout the morning. Small hail was reported in the University area of Charlotte.
Observer reporter Mark Price contributed to this story
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 9:35 AM.
