The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted a ban on take-offs at all American airports, imposed after a communications failure hit air traffic control centres across the country. The order to ground aircraft nationwide was issued at 3.36pm Eastern Time on Friday (10.36pm in Cyprus) and was lifted almost five hours later, at 8.15pm Eastern Time (3.15am on Saturday in Cyprus). By then, more than 10,200 flights had been delayed and over 5,100 cancelled, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded at airports. It was only the second nationwide grounding of flights in the United States since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
Officials blame ageing infrastructure
At a subsequent press conference, the secretaries of transportation and homeland security said the decision to ground aircraft across the country had been taken as a precaution. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the problem to the outdated air traffic control system and stressed that substantial funding is needed to modernise it. “The president has asked for $30 billion. I want $50 billion,” he said. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin struck a similar note, saying there was not the slightest indication that the failure was caused by a “cyberattack”. He said the air traffic control system needs modernising and estimated the cost at around $50 billion.
The US air traffic control system has been plagued by technical failures, communications problems and controller shortages as the FAA tries to replace outdated infrastructure. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to modernise the system, and on Friday the FAA and the White House requested a further $30.1 billion. The only other nationwide suspension of flights since the 11 September attacks came in January 2023, when the FAA halted domestic departures for about 90 minutes. In spring 2025, two communications failures disrupted flights at Newark, one of the three major airports serving New York, after a fault in the communications system of the approach control centre in Philadelphia, 160 kilometres to the south. In September 2026, hundreds of flights were cancelled along the East Coast when a telecommunications line was accidentally cut.
Passengers stranded overnight
The lifting of the ban did not end the disruption for passengers. From Boston to Seattle and from New York to Los Angeles, departure halls and airline desks filled up as delays and cancellations mounted and aircraft remained on the ground. Thousands of passengers spent the night at airports, but US airlines will not be required to compensate them, as they are not responsible for the failure in the air traffic control system. The lack of information sent many travellers to long queues at car rental desks in search of other ways to reach their destinations.
At New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Janis Llewellyn, 61, was close to tears at the thought of missing her daughter’s wedding in Canada, saying she desperately wished she could board another flight straight away. “I’m about to go crazy,” she told AFP, adding that her husband had flown in from England for the wedding. At Washington’s Ronald Reagan airport, Colin Montgomery said he had booked another flight for 6.30am the next day in case everything was resolved overnight, though he thought that unlikely and expected to end up driving to Miami. Joseph Anderson, 72, a retired Air Force veteran trying to get home to Oakland from Las Vegas, was also considering the road but feared the highways would be gridlocked if the whole country was paralysed. His checked luggage was stuck with the airline, he said, adding: “I hope the FAA improves its communication.”
The failure came a few weeks before Thanksgiving, the busiest period for air travel in the United States, with the holiday this year falling just before a weekend packed with professional and college sporting events. Tiara Johnson, 50, had hoped to fly from New York to Orlando, Florida, for a concert at the weekend, but her chances of arriving in time were fading as the evening fell apart. “Then again, it is Friday the 13th!” she said. Hagir Levi Shalev, 54, stayed calm and booked a new flight for Sunday morning, extending her business trip slightly. “One more day away from the kids!” she said with a smile. In Washington, Claire Clemson was less optimistic, saying her family would miss a fairly important event and that she did not believe she would make it in time.
Source: CNA, AMNA, AFP
