Flight operations have resumed across the United States following the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to lift a nationwide ground stop imposed after a major communications failure disrupted air traffic control services, grounding aircraft, forcing hundreds of flight diversions and throwing travel plans into disarray.
The FAA announced late Friday that aircraft departures could resume after the suspension, which was imposed earlier in the day following what the agency described as extraordinary circumstances arising from communications problems at regional air traffic control centres.
The shutdown affected domestic and international travel, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports and facing uncertainty over departure times, connecting flights and alternative travel arrangements.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, speaking to reporters at the White House, attributed the disruption to the introduction of new technology into an ageing air traffic control system, which he said had been overwhelmed.
He said investigators were still working to establish the precise cause of the communications breakdown and could not rule out another outage.
Mullin also said there was no immediate indication that the incident resulted from a cyberattack or deliberate interference.
Asked whether he could rule out a cyberattack or an incident involving rogue artificial intelligence, he said: “There’s nothing completely certain right now. It doesn’t appear that way.”
He explained that investigators had found no digital footprints suggesting an attack and that the failure appeared to be mechanically driven.
The nationwide ground stop was the first of its kind since January 2023, when a malfunction in a key FAA computer system disrupted flight operations across the country.
It was also the second nationwide grounding since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, although Friday’s incident did not involve instructions for aircraft already airborne to land immediately.
Figures from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, showed that at least 827 flights had been diverted as of 7:05pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday.
Of the affected flights, 670 were returned to the airports from which they had departed, while another 157 were redirected to alternative airports.
Washington Dulles International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and Nashville International Airport were among the airports that received diverted aircraft.
The scale of the disruption was significant, with approximately 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers scheduled to depart US airports after 4pm Eastern Standard Time.
Mullin said international flights were being handled on a case-by-case basis, with some allowed to depart on Friday evening.
The nationwide disruption has renewed concerns about the condition of the technology supporting the US air traffic control system, which the federal government has been working to modernise.
The incident has also raised questions about the compatibility of newly introduced technology with the existing infrastructure.
Mullin said investigators would examine any possible connection between the breakdown and the FAA’s nationwide deployment of a new artificial intelligence system designed to identify potential problems and recommend alternative routes for aircraft.
The system, however, operates from a location near Washington, DC, and sends recommendations to air traffic control centres rather than directly controlling aircraft movements.
The US government has been undertaking a major overhaul of its ageing air traffic control infrastructure following congressional approval of $12.5 billion for the project last year.
The modernisation programme includes replacing miles of old copper communication cables with fibre-optic lines and gradually upgrading obsolete radio systems used at airports and air traffic control facilities.
Despite the ongoing improvements, substantial work remains before the programme can be completed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has estimated that an additional $30 billion would be required to complete the overhaul, with the White House already lobbying Congress to approve the additional funding.
- Media Report