US resumes flights after a four-and-a-half-hour shutdown caused by obsolete equipment

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its nationwide ground stop on Friday night, following four and a half hours of airspace closure that canceled thousands of flights. The shutdown was attributed to outdated analogue telecommunications equipment at air traffic control centers, with no evidence of a cyberattack at this time.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that radar and communications at control centers began providing inconsistent data at 3:36 p.m. Eastern time, leading to the grounding of aircraft less than two minutes later. Over 3,500 aircraft were in the air when the issue arose, and the majority of them landed safely. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed that the failure was not linked to a recent global Microsoft outage, and the investigation into the cause of the grounding remains ongoing.

The grounding resulted in more than 6,000 cancellations and over 25,000 delays, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded at airports. The Federal Emergency Management Agency activated its centers to ensure passengers did not go without necessary medications. Recovery efforts will rely on the availability of pilots and crews, with rescheduled flights occurring as early as Saturday, less than two weeks before Thanksgiving.

The secretary called on Congress, which will be controlled by Democrats starting in January, to provide US$50 billion in emergency funding for a new air traffic control system, on top of the previously approved US$12.5 billion. This marks the third nationwide ground stop in U.S. history, following the September 11, 2001 attacks and a similar incident in January 2023 when the pilot notification system failed.