A nationwide flight halt lasted about four hours Friday as officials cited problems with the aging air traffic control system. (Foto: Instagram)
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the United States’ aging air traffic system for a nationwide flight halt on Friday, Nov. 13. He said the disruption involved inconsistencies between radar systems and control towers. Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin used the incident to urge Congress to fund a major overhaul.
At a White House news conference, Duffy said the president had spent the past year asking Congress to fully fund construction of an entirely new air traffic control system. Duffy said the country still relies on analog telecommunications. Its switches and routers became overloaded with data and began producing inconsistencies, he said, prompting officials to shut down the system.
The Federal Aviation Administration activated a new air traffic management tool called Smart earlier in the week. It was not clear whether the tool contributed to the overload. Mullin said that interim fixes, along with new equipment and technology, appeared to be placing additional strain on the old system. He argued that the country needed a complete replacement rather than piecemeal repairs.
On Friday, the White House and the Transportation Department asked Congress to approve an additional $30.1 billion for the air traffic control system. Congress had already approved $12.5 billion in 2025 for investments in the system over five years.
The halt lasted about four hours and ended at around 10 p.m. Friday. More than 8,000 flights were canceled in the United States, according to flight-tracking site Flight Radar.
