FAA Lifts Nationwide Ground Stop After Network Outage; Duffy Cites Routers and Seeks Funding

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all U.S. flights Friday evening after a telecommunications failure, delaying or canceling nearly 7,000 flights, according to FlightAware. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday that FAA systems were back to full operations, and he again urged Congress to fund upgrades to air traffic control equipment.

Duffy first described “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin told reporters there was no sign of a nefarious attack. At a Saturday news conference, Duffy said routers were overloaded with data while a contractor, L3Harris, was switching a remote FAA site from copper wire to fiber. He said the problem spread to routers nationwide, and he warned the system will keep failing without $50 billion for an overhaul. L3Harris said it was supporting the FAA's investigation. Only two earlier nationwide departure halts have occurred: on 11 September 2001 and in January 2023.

The Guardian leads with the ground stop's scale, the flight count, Mullin's no indication remark and the historical precedent. It adds that the FAA employs more than 14,000 controllers handling over 44,000 daily flights. Raw Story, also on the left, centers on the press conference, showing Duffy waiting out audio problems and framing it as embarrassing. Right-leaning outlets focus on the fix and the cause. Breitbart leads with Duffy's recovery update on X, including his thanks to controllers and pilots, and his routers explanation. Fox Business centers on outdated technology, the $50 billion request and L3Harris's role. Both sides agree on a Friday ground stop and a data or communications failure. They differ on emphasis: the left opening excerpts do not mention the contractor, while the right excerpts omit the flight tally and history. Axios, listed as alternative, largely matches the right on funding.