Halting US air traffic for 4 hours: FAA lifts flight ban after communications failure

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the nationwide ground stop it had imposed after a malfunction in the communications system of air traffic control centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that airspace was reopened at 20:15 local time, noting that the centers and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) units had returned to full operation.

In a press conference held at the White House, Duffy revealed that the fault appeared at 15:36 local time when FAA technicians detected disruptions in radar and communications systems, and they took the decision to halt immediately as a precaution. He confirmed that the equipment renewed during President Donald Trump's term was not affected, and that the fault originated from old equipment.

Duffy announced that Trump had launched a project to rebuild the air navigation system with a budget of $12.5 billion, adding: "The President asked for $30 billion, but I see that the need amounts to $50 billion," stressing that the system should not be run with "patchwork and temporary solutions."

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that the equipment had so far detected no indication of a cyberattack, that what happened appeared to be a mechanical failure, and that the investigation was continuing without ruling out any possibility. He explicitly denied any connection between the incident and Microsoft or any artificial intelligence, confirming: "No flight was put at risk, and there was no threat to the safety of lives."

According to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware, more than 8,000 flights were delayed and more than 6,000 flights were cancelled nationwide. United Airlines reported that its flights that were already airborne completed their routes, while its new domestic flights were halted throughout the ground stop period. American Airlines confirmed that its airborne aircraft continued their flights toward their destinations.

It is worth noting that the last nationwide ground stop was in January 2023, when the pilot notification system failed, and before that in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.