How did FAA flight restrictions affect WWE, TNA & AEW programming, including Full Gear, Destination X & 11/13 SmackDown?
Flight cancellations disrupted travel plans amid a busy schedule.
It has been a hectic November for professional wrestling in the United States, with WWE, AEW, and TNA having scheduled various big events in North America in the month. WWE had its weekly programming schedule with SmackDown and NXT Holiday Tour; AEW was preparing for its yearly pay-per-view event, Full Gear, in Phoenix.
TNA is preparing for the much-awaited Destination X show in Edmonton, Canada. However, as the wrestlers were traveling to the various cities for the events, the tight wrestling schedule was hit by an unfortunate twist, with the Federal Aviation Administration announcing a flight ban on all airlines from November 13, 2026.
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FAA announcement – Why were flights grounded across the United States?
A nationwide ground stop for all departing flights in the United States was put into effect by the FAA on Friday, November 13, due to exceptional circumstances. The move came after problems within the communication system that impacted communications and radar systems at several control centers.
The problem was said to be caused by the network being overworked after some technical work involving changing from the copper network to a fiber connection system.
As a result, the FAA decided to temporarily suspend departures until further investigations had been carried out. This measure came into effect at 3:54 PM Eastern time and lasted until 8:15 PM, meaning that it lasted for about four hours and 21 minutes.
How did the FAA flight grounding impact WWE SmackDown & NXT’s live event?
Friday Night SmackDown by WWE took place at the Amerant Bank Arena located in Sunrise, Florida, on November 13. Luckily, the show itself did not experience any issues in terms of the FAA notice because the talent and production staff of WWE managed to arrive at the venue prior to the grounding of flights.
Unfortunately, the problem grew after the SmackDown show, according to reports by Bryan Alvarez. Some of the WWE wrestlers who performed at the show got stuck due to the flight problems and were expected to move only on Sunday.
In this way, despite WWE managing to provide its weekly show, the company encountered some issues with the post-show travel process.
It is important to note that the FAA warning was also issued amidst WWE NXT’s Holiday Tour spanning three cities, where WWE NXT held its live matches on November 13 in Cleveland, November 14 in Detroit, and finally on November 15 in Chicago.
The Cleveland event took place at the Agora Theatre, where the NXT team arrived even before the FAA warning. However, the next two events scheduled to take place in Detroit and Chicago presented some logistical issues for the company.
As multiple stars had to travel from one city to another on consecutive days, the FAA warning could have posed a serious problem to the tour’s schedule. There are no reports about cancellation of any of the three November events.
AEW Full Gear 2026 – Talent travel concerns plagued the pay-per-view
AEW Full Gear 2026 emanated on Saturday from the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. It is stated that several AEW performers had come to Phoenix, as they recorded two recent episodes of Dynamite and Collision, but there were still some performers who had not reached the destination before the FAA declared the grounding.
Bandido was one of them, as he was supposed to participate in Arena Mexico in Mexico City before coming to Phoenix. Luckily, the problem was solved as soon as the flights started to operate again, and it is reported that AEW counted on all their performers to arrive at Phoenix and participate in the show as scheduled. However, the list of performers for the pre-show Tailgate Brawl changed because of the travel problems.
Yet the promotion managed to complete the taping without disruption or major changes, and results are also out for the PPV.
TNA made slight changes to its originally planned card for Destination X
The TNA company was most directly affected by the announcement made by the FAA, since Destination X was planned to take place on November 15 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre in Alberta, Canada.
On November 14, the President of TNA Company, Carlos Silva stated that the pay-per-view was going to take place according to the schedule, but some changes to the original line-up were going to be made due to the fact that some performers had difficulties with traveling.
Two wrestlers offered to fly a short distance within the territory of the USA, and then drive over 600 miles by car to Edmonton. Despite all the difficulties, the organizers of the event announced that Destination X is going to happen on the appointed date, with the Countdown show starting at 4 PM and the main event programme starting at 5 PM.
Why did the FAA ground flights across the United States in November 2026?
The FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop following a telecommunications issue affecting air traffic control communications and radar systems. The decision was taken as a precaution to maintain aviation safety.
Was WWE SmackDown affected by the FAA announcement?
The November 13 SmackDown broadcast was not affected because WWE personnel had already reached Sunrise, Florida. However, several wrestlers reportedly faced difficulties travelling after the show.
Did TNA Destination X and AEW Full Gear get cancelled?
No. Both events proceeded as scheduled. AEW Full Gear took place in Phoenix on November 14, while TNA Destination X remained scheduled for November 15 in Edmonton, although TNA confirmed changes to its original lineup.
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