US Transport chief says unclear if 'incompetence' or bad tech to blame for groundings
Air carriers in the US canceled some 16,000 flights over the past 24 hours in the biggest such grounding since 9/11. Officials hinted that incompetence or faulty equipment, not malfeasance, is the cause.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are investigating the cause of the largest mass grounding of flights in the United States in over two and a half decades. Over 16,000 flights were delayed on Friday and Saturday, disrupting travel plans for many Americans. The issue may stem from faulty router installation or system overload during the update of aged copper wire with new fiber optic cable by contractors, possibly L3Harris.
Transportation Secretary Duffy stated that the contractor did not perform well during the emergency update, which was completed on a Friday afternoon instead of Saturday night, typically when air traffic is less busy. The FAA has approved $12.5 billion to fund the changeover, and Duffy has now requested an additional $50 billion, deeming it an emergency.
Airlines are not responsible for compensating passengers whose flights were canceled, causing financial losses for airlines, particularly with the added burden of high fuel prices due to the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf.
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