The CEO and Executive Chair of TKO Group Holdings, Ari Emanuel, has attributed the recent nationwide flight cancellations and delays to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
On November 13, the Federal Aviation Administration instituted a temporary ground stop for all departing flights after communication failures at regional Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
The stoppage, the largest U.S. ground stop since September 11, 2001, initially led to roughly 65,000 flight cancellations and over 8,800 delays; the numbers have since risen to more than 30,000 cancellations and delays.
Emanuel first said on social media that “no one’s hands are clean,” then singled out Buttigieg, accusing him of failing to modernize the FAA during his tenure.
No one’s hands are clean here. However, Mr. Secretary Buttigieg, you had four years in the job and infrastructure money, yet made zero progress modernizing the FAA. You left a failing system in place. THANKS!
— Ari Emanuel (@AriEmanuel) November 13, 2026
Buttigieg, who left office several years ago, has not been implicated by Emanuel in the current administration’s handling of the crisis. The current Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, appointed by President Donald Trump, was not criticized by Emanuel in the posts.
On social media, users have both mocked Emanuel’s remarks and defended Buttigieg, noting that Buttigieg’s initiatives were aimed at upgrading FAA systems to prevent such incidents.
Duffy, a former lobbyist and FOX News host with limited transportation experience, assumed the role of Transportation Secretary in 2023.
Emanuel, who acquired WWE in a $9 billion deal and merged it with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings in 2023, was not otherwise linked to the aviation disruption.