The FAA expects U.S. air travel to be back to normal by the end of Sunday, after a nationwide ground stop caused major disruption over the weekend.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Saturday that “the worst is behind us.” The shutdown was the longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the disruption began while contractor L3Harris Technologies was replacing aging copper wiring in the air traffic control system with fiber-optic cables. The work reportedly overloaded the system, causing intermittent communication and radar outages. Officials were looking into whether the problem stemmed from a faulty router or contractor shortcomings.
“Our contractor didn’t meet the moment or the equipment didn’t meet the moment,” Duffy said.
The FAA ordered the ground stop Friday afternoon. It was lifted at 8:15 p.m. ET, but the disruption continued to affect airline crews, passengers and airport operations. Around 15,000 flights were affected on Friday and Saturday.
“You will continue to see some delays and cancellations as carriers reschedule flights and reposition aircraft and crews where they are needed most,” Duffy said in a post on X.
He urged travelers to check directly with their airlines for the latest updates. Delays and cancellations may continue as airlines adjust their schedules and move aircraft and crews.
The last nationwide ground stop occurred in January 2023, when an FAA system that sends notices to pilots malfunctioned. It was the second such stop since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
