On a Friday evening, planes barely airborne turned back to the runways they had left, as the Federal Aviation Administration brought the nation's skies to a rare halt. A routine swap of old copper wiring for fiber optic cable, performed by the contractor L3Harris, flooded air traffic communications with more data than they could carry, and the failures spread far enough to force a nationwide ground stop. Officials insist no hostile hand was at work, and expect the system to be restored by Sunday night, but the schedules that depend on planes, crews and gates lining up will take days to find th
Flight Disruptions Persist After FAA Ground Stop, With Recovery Expected to Take Several Days
Thousands of passengers were stranded and thousands of flights were canceled or delayed during the ground stop and its aftermath.
Planes that had just taken off turned around and flew back
Mark
So what actually broke on Friday?
Mimi
A contractor, L3Harris, was swapping copper wire for fiber optic cable at a remote air traffic location. It was meant to be routine, but the switch flooded the system with more data than it could handle, and communications failed across multiple facilities.
Mark
And that was enough to stop every flight in the country?
Mimi
Officials were alarmed by how widespread the failures were, so they issued a rare nationwide ground stop that lasted hours. Many planes that had just taken off went back to where they started.
Luke
Do we know who's at fault yet?
Mimi
No. Administration officials say it's unclear whether the contractor or faulty equipment was to blame. L3Harris says it's supporting the investigation.
Luke
What about the cyberattack question? That's the one people ask first.
Mimi
Officials say there's no evidence of one, and none that the FAA's new assistive A.I. tools played a role. That's an absence of evidence at this stage, not a finished investigation.
Mark
Why does it take days to recover if the system is back Sunday night?
Mimi
Planes, crews and gates all have to line up. Crews hit legal working limits, planes ended up in the wrong places, and big disruptions force airlines to cancel flights to reset the network.
Luke
And the $50 billion figure?
Mimi
That's Secretary Duffy's request, not an approved number. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year for communications upgrades. Whether more passes is still open, and the two parties are already blaming each other.
O Pulso
- A routine copper-to-fiber upgrade overloaded FAA air traffic communications and forced a rare nationwide ground stop that froze thousands of flights.
- Planes that had just taken off were turned back to their origin airports, crowding gates and ground space already stretched thin.
- Airlines are canceling flights proactively to reset their networks, while crews hit legal working limits and passengers wait for rebooking.
- Officials promise normal air traffic control by Sunday night, but schedules may take days to recover, and fault for the failure remains unsettled.
- Transportation Secretary Duffy's $50 billion modernization request has collided with a partisan fight over funding and oversight before Congress changes hands.
On a Friday evening, planes barely airborne turned back to the runways they had left, as the Federal Aviation Administration brought the nation's skies to a rare halt. A routine swap of old copper wiring for fiber optic cable, performed by the contractor L3Harris, flooded air traffic communications with more data than they could carry, and the failures spread far enough to force a nationwide ground stop. Officials insist no hostile hand was at work, and expect the system to be restored by Sunday night, but the schedules that depend on planes, crews and gates lining up will take days to find their rhythm again. Beneath the technical failure lies an older question about how much a country is willing to invest in the invisible machinery that keeps its travelers moving, and that question is now being argued in the final days of one Congress before another takes its place.
On Friday evening, planes that had only just left the runway turned around and flew back to the airports they had departed. The Federal Aviation Administration had issued one of its rare nationwide ground stops, halting thousands of flights and leaving thousands of passengers stranded. By Saturday, the damage was still spreading, as airlines canceled thousands more flights and airports struggled to recover.
The trigger, officials said, was a routine technical job that went wrong. L3Harris, the contractor that manages much of the FAA's telecommunications network, was replacing copper wire with fiber optic cable at a remote air traffic location. The switch sent more data through the system than it could handle, communications failed across facilities that manage the nation's airspace, and officials halted flights for hours. Who bears responsibility is still unclear. L3Harris says it is cooperating with the investigation, and officials have found no sign of a cyberattack.
The delays linger because aviation depends on planes, crews and gates arriving at the right place and time. Airlines can recover from small disruptions, but a shock this large forces them to cancel flights and rebuild their schedules, a process that can take days. Travelers are being offered waivers for changes and refunds, though help is likely to be limited because no single airline caused the failure.
The outage has also become a political fight. Mr. Duffy blamed Congress for underfunding the aging air traffic control system and asked for $50 billion to modernize it. Democrats countered that the administration had money available and chose other priorities, and they promised oversight. The next markers are Sunday night, when the FAA expects normal service, and the investigation into what went wrong.
On Friday evening, planes that had only just left the runway turned around and flew back to the airports they had departed. A nationwide ground stop, one of the rare ones the Federal Aviation Administration issues, had halted thousands of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded. By Saturday the effects were still moving through the system, as airlines canceled thousands more flights and airports struggled to recover.
The trigger, federal officials said Saturday, was a technical upgrade that went wrong. L3Harris, a contractor that manages the FAA's telecommunications network, was working at a remote air traffic location. Its task was routine: replacing copper wire with modern fiber optic cable. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the work was expected to cause no significant disruption to air traffic.
Instead, the switch from copper to fiber overwhelmed the system with more data than it could handle. Communications failed across air traffic facilities that manage the nation's airspace. Alarmed by how far the failures reached, officials ordered the ground stop, which lasted for hours.
Who is responsible is not yet settled. Administration officials say it is unclear whether L3Harris or faulty equipment was to blame. In a statement Saturday, L3Harris said it was supporting the FAA's investigation and that it takes the ground stop and its impact on travelers, airlines and air traffic operations seriously. Mr. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said there was no evidence of a cyberattack or other nefarious activity. They also said there was no evidence that the agency's recent effort to equip its air traffic control facilities with assistive A.I. technology played a role. Mr. Bedford said the air traffic control system should be back to normal by Sunday night, though flight schedules could take several days to recover.
The delays linger because aviation depends on planes, crews and open gates lining up at the right time and place. According to Cirium, an aviation data firm, many planes returned to the airports they had just left on Friday, crowding limited ground space, while flight crews quickly reached their legal working limits. Airlines can often make up lost time after minor disruptions, but larger ones typically force them to reset the network by canceling flights proactively. Rebooking passengers and repositioning aircraft can take days.
The outage has also become a political argument. Mr. Duffy faulted Congress on Friday for failing to adequately fund an overhaul of the aging air traffic control system, and he asked for $50 billion to modernize it. That request pushed the issue to the front of the final days of Republican control on Capitol Hill. Last year, Congress approved $12.5 billion toward upgrading the air traffic communications system. Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on Saturday morning that he would seek to raise FAA funding in an "aggressive legislative package" before Democrats take control of both chambers.
Democrats responded that the Trump administration already had ample money for improvements but had put deportations ahead of air safety. They vowed to hold the administration accountable and said Congress needed to begin investigating its failures.
For travelers, the practical picture is limited. Because no individual airline caused the upgrade failure, accommodations are likely to be modest. Airlines will try to rebook canceled, significantly delayed or changed flights, and passengers who decline the new flight are entitled to a refund. United, Delta, JetBlue, Alaska and Southwest have issued waivers allowing changes or cancellations without change fees or fare differences. Stranded travelers can also try joining the standby list for an earlier flight or calling an airline's international hotline, which should have fewer callers.
The next markers are Sunday night, when the FAA expects its systems to be normal, and the investigation into fault, alongside the funding fight before the change in congressional control.
Citações Notáveis
The air traffic control system is expected to be back to normal by Sunday night, though flight schedules could take several days to recover.— Bryan Bedford, FAA administrator
L3Harris takes the nationwide ground stop and its impact on travelers, airlines and air traffic operations seriously.— L3Harris statement
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Leia o original em The New York Times ↗