US Aviation Regulator Halts All Flights Nationwide for Five Hours

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees the country's air traffic, grounded flights nationwide for five hours on Friday. It was the most severe such stoppage since September 11, 2001. The cause was instability in the system that carries communications between the FAA, air traffic controllers and pilots, affecting passengers as well as freight and mail operations.

Several outlets reported that the decision was tied to a failure on the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) network, the private communications backbone of air traffic control. The network is being modernized, with decades-old copper wiring being replaced by high-speed fiber-optic cable. The FAA says the upgrade will reduce outages and delays and make it easier to handle newer aircraft, including drones and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Scale of disruption

When the stop was lifted on Friday evening, aviation tech company FlightAware counted more than 6,300 canceled flights within, into or out of the US, with 9,500 delayed. Airlines may need days or even weeks to reposition aircraft and crews and restore schedules.

Official explanations

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told a White House briefing that delays will continue, blaming old switches and routers and a data overload. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the problem stemmed from patches added to the system while new equipment was being installed. He said there were no signs of a cyberattack, though certainty was not complete.

The system is managed by government contractor L3Harris Technologies, which did not comment. In May the company said its modernization was 50 percent complete, and 70 percent of FAA sites have been moved to fiber. In August the FAA selected AT&T to build a new system under a $73 million contract. Duffy is asking Congress for $50 billion for air traffic control and airport upgrades. A September report by the US Government Accountability Office warned that the accelerated effort could prioritize speed over cost and disruption.