Maintenance and upgrade work on the outdated telecommunications system of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are behind the unprecedented flight groundings that paralyzed air travel in the United States on Friday, according to the latest announcements from the Trump administration.
Although airspace reopened after about four hours, the chaos continued on Saturday, with thousands of new cancellations, hours-long delays, and passengers stranded at airports across the country. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the problem occurred during the replacement of old copper cables with fiber-optic cables, while authorities are investigating whether the failure was due to human error or defective equipment.
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The maintenance work that caused the collapse
During a press conference on Saturday, Sean Duffy explained that the malfunction began when an outside contractor for the FAA was performing “routine maintenance work” at a remote agency facility to replace copper telecommunications lines with fiber-optic cables.
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“What we are trying to determine is whether there was incompetence or whether a defective router was installed,” said the Minister of Transportation, leaving open the possibilities of human error and technical failure.
As he explained, as soon as technicians managed to isolate the work being carried out at that specific facility, the systems resumed operation and the FAA lifted the ground stop order.
Duffy reiterated that the United States continues to rely on an air traffic control system that is several decades old. “It’s not just about old equipment. We have an extremely outdated telecommunications system,” he emphasized, explaining that the work was being carried out precisely because of the age of the cables.
Over 12,000 cancellations in two days
Despite the resumption of U.S. airspace operations, the effects of the four-hour shutdown continued to impact thousands of flights.
According to data from the flight tracking platform FlightAware, by 11 a.m. on Saturday, U.S. Eastern Time, more than 4,000 flights to, from, or within the country had been canceled. These cancellations were in addition to the more than 8,000 recorded on Friday, bringing the total to more than 12,000.
The disruption marked the longest-lasting nationwide flight groundstop in the U.S. in the last 25 years, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports, without knowing when they would be able to reach their destinations.
Problems were reported at major airports, including those in Boston, Washington, New York, and Miami.
The FAA expects full service to resume on Sunday
FAA Administrator Brian Bedford apologized to passengers and said he believed the worst of the crisis was over.
“We will continue to experience delays and cancellations today, but this will allow us to achieve full recovery tomorrow,” he said on Saturday.
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As he explained, airlines estimate that they will be able to fully restore their flight schedules by the end of Sunday.
Bedford also ruled out the possibility of a malicious act, clarifying that there is no evidence pointing to a cyberattack or an incident related to artificial intelligence.
“We see no indication of malicious activity and no indication that it is related to artificial intelligence. This is an equipment issue, and we are trying to determine which component was defective,” he emphasized.
Duffy took a similar stance, stating that there is no evidence of an attack by a foreign country.
The company carrying out the work
L3Harris, the company responsible for upgrading the air traffic control equipment, announced that it is cooperating with U.S. authorities in the investigation of the incident.
According to the company, more than 70% of the planned transition from the old copper telecommunications lines to a fiber-optic system has already been completed.
“We take the flight delays and their negative impact on travelers, airlines, and air traffic control agencies with the utmost seriousness,” it said in a statement.
L3Harris added that it is assisting the FAA in its investigation into the circumstances that led to the suspension of air traffic.
Warnings from American Airlines and Delta
The airlines warned that a return to normal operations will take time, as aircraft and crews are in locations different from those originally scheduled.
American Airlines announced that it is taking all necessary measures to minimize the impact, but delays and cancellations will continue.
Similarly, Delta Air Lines has urged passengers to expect additional schedule changes as the company works to return its aircraft and crews to their scheduled locations.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also issued a warning, noting that, despite the resumption of flights to the U.S., the impact on international air travel may continue.
According to the latest figures reported by Reuters later on Saturday, cancellations had exceeded 6,400 for that day, following approximately 9,200 on Friday, while 875 Sunday flights had already been canceled.
Cancellations Even at Major Sporting Events
The impact also extended to American sports, as teams scheduled to travel for weekend games faced serious transportation problems.
In college football, the Southeastern Conference announced that the Mississippi vs. Oklahoma game had been rescheduled for Sunday, a day traditionally set aside for NFL games.
Meanwhile, a basketball game between the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Cornell University was postponed, while travel disruptions were also reported in the NBA and the NHL.
Political Backlash and Calls for Duffy’s
Resignation The unprecedented crisis sparked political backlash, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, calling on Saturday for the Transportation Secretary to resign.
The Democratic governor also called on Congress to launch a full investigation into the causes of the outage to ensure that a similar incident does not recur.
For its part, the Trump administration is seeking additional funding for a comprehensive upgrade of the air traffic control system, with Duffy arguing that $50 billion is needed to modernize the infrastructure.
Reuters
This is only the third nationwide flight ground stop ordered by the FAA in the United States in the 21st century. The first occurred after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the second in January 2023, during Joe Biden’s presidency, due to a malfunction in the pilot information system.
The new crisis brings the problems of U.S. aviation infrastructure back into the spotlight, as a single failure during routine upgrade work was enough to cause disruptions at 17 of the country’s 22 regional air traffic control centers.
Source: Proto Thema
