The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the lifting of the ground stop it had imposed at all U.S. airports, due to a communications problem that affected air traffic control centers across the country.
“The suspension of flights does not appear to be linked to a cyberattack or any failure caused by artificial intelligence.”
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Alert in the U.S.: All aircraft grounded by order of the FAA
The flight suspension, which caused massive disruption, was due to a technical problem, according to the agency.
The FAA imposed a takeoff ban “following a communication problem that affected all Air Traffic Control Centers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a social media post, adding that “FAA technicians are investigating the issue.”
READ ALSO: Alert in the U.S.: All aircraft grounded by order of the FAA
The order from the Federal Aviation Administration does not appear to be related to a threat against the U.S., said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Malin.
“This is not another 9/11,” Malin told reporters at the White House who were seeking answers about the reasons for the ban.
“With a brand new state of the art system, we wouldn’t have these outages… At 8:15 tonight, eastern time, we’ve opened up the air space…" Secretary Mullin & Secretary Duffy provide an update on the FAA National Ground Stop. https://t.co/twTyQ9UJQ0
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 14, 2026
Chaos continues, with thousands of passengers stranded
Thousands of passengers in the U.S. are experiencing incredible hardship due to the hours-long flight blackout across the country, despite the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered aircraft to begin taking off again.
Chaos, exhaustion, inconvenience, and anxiety, as no one knows when the situation will return to normal, while experts estimate it will take days.
Airlines may need to take emergency measures, such as calling in reserve crews or transferring empty aircraft to airports where they are needed. At the same time, nighttime hours are expected to be used to speed up the decongestion process, as there are typically fewer domestic flights during that time, leaving more leeway to address delays and resolve outstanding issues.
A full return to normal operations, however, depends not only on the lifting of flight restrictions but also on the coordination of the entire airline network, so that aircraft and crews can gradually return to their original schedules.
Trump was briefed
“There is currently no indication that this is a malicious attack against us. For now, this is simply a telecommunications outage,” the secretary said, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation.
Donald Trump, who remained unusually silent for quite some time regarding the crisis at the airports, assessed that the suspension of flights does not appear to be linked to a cyberattack or any malfunction caused by artificial intelligence.
Receiving constant updates, as a senior White House official stated, he spoke by phone with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
He limited his comments to Fox News, as did other officials, stating that a telecommunications problem was the cause of the flight suspensions and that it was not due to a cyberattack.
The FBI had previously assessed that the communication problems that grounded the aircraft were not due to a cyberattack, as reported by the Bloomberg news agency, citing a well-informed source.
Radio Frequency Interference
The chaos at the airports appears to have been caused by interference with the radio frequencies used by air traffic controllers to communicate with pilots, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The last time a nationwide ban on takeoffs from airports was imposed was in January 2023, when a pilot alert system went offline.
And before that, it was after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Last year, Congress approved $12.5 billion to upgrade the aging communications system, and on Friday, the FAA and the White House asked Congress for an additional $30.1 billion to address other issues.
Source: In.gr/Protothema.gr
