US officials say flight stoppage stemmed from ‘routine maintenance’ as travel chaos continues

Thousands of flights remained canceled across the United States as officials blamed a 25-year-old, ageing air control system for a nationwide ground stop that delayed or canceled thousands of flights on Friday. The Trump administration said the four-hour stoppage on Friday stemmed from routine maintenance being performed at a remote FAA facility by a contractor who was switching telecommunications lines from copper wire to fiber optic cable.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated at a briefing on Saturday that the issue may have been due to incompetence or a faulty router. The FAA's head, Bryan Bedford, apologized to passengers and believed the worst of the disruption was behind them, but warned delays and cancellations would continue on Saturday. Airlines worked to recover from the ground stop, with over 4,000 flights within, into or out of the US canceled by 11am ET on Saturday, adding to the over 8,000 cancellations from the previous day.

The issue was attributed to the US having a "decades-old air traffic control system" and an "incredibly old telecommunications system." Duffy and Bedford ruled out any evidence of nefarious activity or AI-related issues, stating it was an equipment problem. The disruption affected major cities like Boston, Washington DC, New York and Miami, and prompted the Southeastern Conference to reschedule a college football game and postpone a college basketball match.