US flight operations halted nationwide following communications failure
A telecommunications outage at air traffic control centres caused delays for an estimated 1.5 million passengers on Friday.
A nationwide ground stop was imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday after telecommunications problems affected air traffic control centres across the United States. According to the Times of India, the outage began around 3:36 pm ET, impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centres and Terminal Radar Approach Control centres.
The disruption affected an estimated 1.5 million passengers, with more than 10,000 flights delayed or cancelled. While aircraft already in the air were permitted to continue to their destinations, departures remained suspended for over four hours until the FAA lifted the restrictions at 8:15 pm ET.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the failure to legacy equipment, including old switches and routers, becoming overloaded with data. Duffy stated that the system used 1980s copper lines and warned that similar incidents could recur unless the ageing aviation infrastructure is overhauled.
The outage occurred as the White House and Transportation Department sought an additional $30.1 billion from Congress for upgrades, including $10.1 billion for air traffic control modernisation. A 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office noted that over 75 per cent of the 138 air traffic control systems reviewed by the FAA were classified as either unsustainable or potentially unsustainable.
The FAA has previously replaced 68 per cent of its legacy copper telecommunications network with high-speed fiber. However, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford previously noted that the agency's 300 facilities often operate as technological silos using decades-old systems.
