14.11.2026 23:52
A communications failure in the air traffic control system across the United States caused major disruptions in air travel. As flights resumed after being halted for more than four hours, thousands of flights were canceled and many passengers were stranded at airports. While operations are expected to return fully to normal on Sunday, according to FlightAware, more than 4,000 flights were canceled today and more than 3,000 flights experienced delays.
Flights that were grounded for more than 4 hours across the country due to a communication issue affecting air traffic control centers in the US have resumed. However, disruptions following the decision continue. According to FlightAware data, as of 20:00 Turkey time on Saturday, more than 4,000 flights had been cancelled and more than 3,000 flights experienced delays.
DUFFY: WE ARE OPERATING AT FULL CAPACITY AGAIN
US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy held a press conference regarding developments after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded flights nationwide on November 13.
Duffy, noting that approximately 3,500 aircraft in the air when the grounding decision was made landed safely, said operations were again being carried out at full capacity.
Stating that the communication problem was not caused only by old equipment, Duffy noted that the telecommunications infrastructure was also quite old.
OLD COPPER CABLES WERE BEING CONVERTED TO FIBER OPTIC
Duffy, stating that a contractor company was carrying out routine maintenance work and that telecommunications lines running over copper cables were being converted to fiber-optic infrastructure, reported that the source of the problem had not yet been definitively identified.
Duffy said it was being investigated whether the fault originated from router equipment or from the contractor company's inadequacy.
Responding to the question of whether the communication outage was caused by a cyberattack, Duffy used the following statements:
“When we managed to isolate the work being carried out, all our systems came back online. Therefore, we do not believe that this was a cyberattack. What was involved was an FAA system that could not meet the requirements of the day.”
CALL TO CONGRESS FOR $50 BILLION
Emphasizing that the US air traffic control infrastructure needed to be renewed, Duffy called on Congress to take action to modernize the systems.
Duffy said, “If we are not going to start replacing our systems, how much longer will we wait? I think this is a sign that Congress needs to address the issue more seriously.”
The US Secretary of Transportation requested $50 billion in funding from Congress to renew the air traffic control system.
12,000 FLIGHTS COULD NOT BE OPERATED ON FRIDAY
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford recalled that the decision to ground flights was taken around 15:45 local time on November 13 as a precaution.
Bedford, stating that while investigating the cause of the instability in the system, they decided to keep aircraft on the ground in order to reduce density and complexity in the airspace, said he stood behind the decision.
Bedford conveyed that about 30,000 of the 50,000 flights planned for Friday had been completed or were in the air when the grounding decision was made, and reported that 8,000 of the remaining 20,000 flights were carried out later.
Bedford noted that about 9,000 of the 12,000 flights that could not be operated were commercial flights.
CANCELLATIONS CONTINUED ON SATURDAY
FAA Administrator Bedford stated that as of Saturday morning the system was in a stable condition, but airlines were trying to bring their operations back into order.
Bedford announced that approximately 4,000 to 5,000 of the 41,000 flights planned for Saturday were expected to be cancelled. Stating that aircraft and crew needed to be repositioned, Bedford reported that delays and cancellations could continue throughout the day.
According to information received from airlines, flight schedules are expected to return completely to normal by the end of the working day on Sunday.
MORE THAN 4,000 FLIGHTS CANCELLED
According to data from flight tracking site FlightAware, as of 20:00 Turkey time on Saturday, more than 4,000 flights were cancelled in the US and more than 3,000 flights experienced delays.
While thousands of passengers were stranded at airports, airlines warned that disruptions could continue. The companies advised passengers without an urgent travel need to consider postponing their flights.
WARNING TO PASSENGERS FROM AIRLINES
American Airlines announced that the effects of the major disruption in the national airspace system would continue on Saturday and that additional delays and cancellations could occur.
Delta Air Lines, stating that efforts to return operations to normal were ongoing, advised passengers with flexibility in their travel plans to move their flights to Monday, November 16, or a later date.
United Airlines, meanwhile, reported that most of its weekend flights were operated normally, but delays and cancellations could continue on some flights due to the repositioning of aircraft and crew.
LONGEST FLIGHT GROUNDING DECISION SINCE SEPTEMBER 11
The US Federal Aviation Administration had grounded flights at airports across the country for more than 4 hours on November 13 due to a communication issue affecting air traffic control centers.
The FAA had announced that flights were grounded as a precaution due to a temporary telecommunications outage. It was stated that the decision was the longest-lasting grounding of flights implemented nationwide in the US since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
According to FlightAware data, during the outage on November 13, more than 10,000 flights across the US experienced delays, while more than 1,000 flights were cancelled.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin had also announced that so far no evidence of a cyberattack had been found regarding the incident and that investigations were ongoing.