Trump admin warns US air travellers of another messy day

The Trump administration warned on Sunday that the air travel chaos caused by the no-takeoff order could extend for another day, delaying the return to normal operations. Hundreds more flights were canceled, raising questions about how such a disarray could occur in the world's largest economy, a nation renowned for its technological advancements.

Officials attributed Friday's major blunder to faulty work on upgrading air traffic control communication cables. President Donald Trump ended his days of silence by blaming predecessor Joe Biden for the debacle, insisting that he inherited a mess from the Biden administration. He also called for Congress, currently controlled by his party, to approve funds for upgrading America's antiquated air traffic control system.

"The Biden Administration was an FAA disaster," Trump stated, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration. "Everything they touched turned bad. Big money spent unwisely, making an old and broken system worse than when they began." FAA chief Bryan Bedford had predicted on Saturday that air travel for millions stranded at airports would resume normal by Sunday's close, and he apologized for the disruption, asserting that the system remains stable.

However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later clarified to ABC News that it would take longer to return planes, crews, and travelers to their destinations. "So, in the airspace, we're going to see things come back to normal today, but probably fully normal tomorrow," Duffy said. Duffy rejected calls for his resignation, citing the outdated air traffic control infrastructure, including radar equipment dating back to the 1960s, he inherited.

The Trump administration traced the issue to Friday's nationwide ground stop, which halted nearly all departing flights for nearly five hours and caused the longest such halt since the 9/11 attacks. The problem was traced to an L3Harris contractor installing a new router at a remote facility, with the union representing FAA safety employees confirming it was isolated to two routers updated on Friday.