FAA allows flights to resume after hours-long ground stop across the US

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted a nationwide ground stop across the United States that brought all flights to a halt for several hours, starting on November 13. Hundreds of flights were canceled, thousands already in flight were diverted, and millions of passengers were stranded as the ground stop continued.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the incredibly old air traffic control system for the incident, attributing it to outdated telecom technology. The U.S. still relies on TDM telecom, an analog telecommunications technology, to transmit information between facilities. As the routers were overloaded with data, they began transmitting inconsistent information, leading to the ground stop.

Duffy clarified that only the old equipment was affected, and the country did not lose all communications and radar. The FAA has only issued ground stops three times in the current century, with this being the second-longest after the 9/11 attacks. Congress has allocated $12.5 billion for the modernization of the country's air traffic facilities, but Duffy is seeking an additional $30 billion.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who appeared with Duffy, stated that there was no indication of a cyberattack causing the communication issues. However, Homeland Security is still investigating and not ruling out all possibilities.