The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted commercial flights nationwide Friday (early Saturday in Manila) after a communications failure crippled all 22 regional air traffic control centers, although it remained unclear whether the disruption was connected to an outage affecting some Microsoft services.
The FAA ordered the ground stop “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety” while technicians investigated the failure. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all 22 regional centers were affected, compromising controllers’ ability to coordinate aircraft movements reliably.
There was no immediate timetable for resuming flights.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication that the incident resulted from a cyberattack or other deliberate action. Seeking to assure the public that passengers are safe, Mullin said there isn’t any reason “to believe this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage.”
The grounding was the first nationwide halt to commercial air traffic since January 2023, when a malfunction in a critical FAA computer system forced a temporary suspension of departures. The previous nationwide shutdown occurred following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Investigators will also examine whether the communications failure was connected to the FAA’s nationwide rollout of a new artificial intelligence system designed to identify potential problems and recommend alternative flight routes. Mullin said the system operates from a facility near Washington, D.C., and sends recommendations to air traffic control centers.
The incident has renewed concerns about the aging technology underpinning the country’s air traffic control network.
Congress approved USD12.5 billion last year to begin modernizing the system, including replacing miles of deteriorating copper wires with fiber-optic lines and upgrading outdated radio equipment. However, much of the overhaul remains unfinished.
Duffy has estimated that another USD30 billion will be needed to complete the modernization, with the White House seeking additional congressional funding.
