Have flights from Tenerife been cancelled because of the US flight stop?

That is not confirmed. The reports reviewed show no sign of any effect on Tenerife, and no statement from AENA or Binter turned up.

How long did the US departure stop last?

The FAA imposed it at 15:54 Eastern time and lifted it at about 20:15. That is roughly 4 hours 20 minutes, though reports give anything from four to almost five hours.

Was a cyberattack behind the outage?

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin saw no signs of one, but would not promise absolute certainty. The cause has not been fully settled.

What should travellers with a booked US flight do now?

Check the flight status with the airline, because Transport Secretary Duffy expects disruption through the weekend. No official passenger notice had appeared by Saturday.

What happened to flights that were already in the air?

United and American said flights that had already departed would continue. Alaska Airlines said its flights within Alaska and to Hawaii were not affected.

Tenerife: US grounds all departures, no impact confirmed

What does the flight stop mean for visitors to Tenerife?

No impact of the US flight stop on Tenerife or the other Canary Islands has been confirmed so far. The reports reviewed show no cancelled flights from Tenerife, and they contain no statement from AENA (the operator of Spain’s airports), from Binter or from the Canarian authorities.

Travellers flying to or from the US are the ones affected. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said the disruption would last until Saturday and through the rest of the weekend.

Anyone with a US-linked flight on 14 or 15 November should first check the status with their airline. No official passenger notice on rebooking or compensation had appeared by Saturday.

The reports do not say whether the stop hit flights from Spain or the Canary Islands to the US. If you have booked such a connection, ask the airline directly.

How important are US routes for Tenerife?

According to AENA, the Canary Islands airports handled 54,753,915 passengers in 2025, 3.6% more than in 2024. Tenerife Sur had 13,969,678 passengers, and Tenerife Norte–Ciudad de La Laguna had 7,174,977 (up 6.1%).

The US share cannot be read from these figures, because AENA does not break passengers down by country of origin or destination. The Canarian statistics office ISTAC does sort arrivals by market of origin, but this research found no US figure.

A trade report says United has cancelled the Newark–Tenerife Sur route. In summer 2024, 11,196 passengers flew it at around 80% occupancy, according to AENA; the report is undated, so travellers should check the current schedule themselves.

What happened in the US on Friday, and how many flights were affected?

The FAA imposed a nationwide departure stop at 15:54 Eastern time on Friday. Duffy put the first telecoms problems at FAA facilities at 15:36.

The stop was lifted at about 20:15 Eastern time, roughly 4 hours 20 minutes later. Reports give different durations, from more than four to almost five hours.

The FAA first cited an “extraordinary situation and security reasons”, then a temporary telecoms failure. All US airports were affected, with exceptions including rescue flights and transport of life-saving cargo.

At 22:00 Eastern time, FlightAware counted about 7,000 cancelled or delayed flights, and Flightradar24 more than 1,700 cancellations. Chicago O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Atlanta and Charlotte were hit hardest.

After a good three and a half hours, the FAA released some international departures, for example in Honolulu. After more than three hours, it had asked Eurocontrol to suspend flights from 42 European countries to the US.

What caused the outage?

Duffy said the routers were overloaded with data and the system crashed. Newer equipment had overwhelmed an “incredibly old” system, he said.

Controllers received conflicting data, so the system was shut down, Duffy added. He blamed outdated analogue technology, but this account has not been independently checked.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin saw no signs of a cyberattack and no link to the recent Microsoft outage. He would not promise absolute certainty.

President Trump said in an interview that it did not look like a cyberattack, and he pointed to ageing components. The final cause is not settled; Mullin said analysis is under way and the fix will take time.

How often does an outage like this shut down US airspace?

The NOTAM system, which warns pilots of hazards and airport changes, failed on 11 January 2023. The FAA then stopped all domestic departures, for 95 minutes according to one report.

Two months ago, a communications fault at airports around Washington grounded hundreds of flights. Reports disagree on whether Friday was the second or third nationwide departure stop since 11 September 2001.

Duffy estimates that renewing the technology needs up to 50 billion US dollars. The reports give conflicting sums for approved and newly requested funds, so they are left out here.

Still open are the exact cause, the final number of cancellations and a timetable for investigations. Neither Duffy nor Mullin gave dates.