Widespread Travel Disruption Across the US
Widespread travel disruption is expected across the US this weekend as aviation recovers after all flights in the country were grounded on Friday afternoon. The FAA halted flights nationwide for about four-and-a-half hours after an issue with air traffic control systems, stranding travelers in airports and canceling about 12,500 flights on Friday and Saturday.
Friday's Closure and Weekend Impact
Still, Friday's closure will snarl air travel into the weekend as airlines scramble to get airplanes and crew back in place—and thousands of delayed or canceled passengers back on their way.
Blame on Outdated Infrastructure
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, during press conferences on Friday and Saturday, blamed the outage on outdated ATC infrastructure. Duffy also floated the possibility of an error by longtime FAA contractor L3Harris Technologies, or a faulty router.
L3Harris Response
L3Harris said on Saturday that it has been modernizing the communications infrastructure that supports the National Airspace System and has completed more than 70% of the planned conversion from copper wires to fiber optics. "We are supporting the FAA in its investigation to understand the conditions that led to the Nov. 13 ground stop of our nation's air travel," the company said in an X post.
Call for Congress Funding
Duffy and Mullin also called for Congress to cough up $50 billion for ATC modernization—up from the $30 billion previously pitched in September. The FAA tapped AT&T in August 2026 to lead the infrastructure overhaul of L3Harris' decades-old network.
Cause of the FAA Outage
Here's what we know so far about the cause of the FAA outage:
- Duffy floated a contractor mistake or a faulty router.
- The issue began when L3Harris, an FAA contractor for over 20 years, was upgrading copper wiring to fiber at "at least one" remote FAA site on Friday.
- One of the routers in the project "started flooding other routers" in the network with data, so the FAA shut it down. That affected radar and communication with pilots at Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
Additional Details
- Duffy said the issue wasn't related to cybersecurity or AI.
- He emphasized that the public was never in danger during the airspace outage.
- Duffy said they were still "working on the details" of exactly what happened and how it could be prevented in the future.
Passenger Impact
That flying public was stranded in airports around the country—checking airport monitors only to see their flights delayed or canceled. Because the events of the day weren't the airlines' fault, passengers would have little recourse for meals or hotels.
Timeline of Events
About 20 minutes after the ground stop was ordered, Duffy said it came "following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers." People were quick to express their frustration and confusion on social media.