US Flight Operations Begin to Recover After Major Technical Glitch Disrupts Thousands of Flights
Air traffic operations across the United States have begun to recover following a major technical malfunction that severely disrupted aviation services. However, officials have warned that it will take considerable time for flight operations to return to normal.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced the lifting of the nationwide ground stop and initiated the process of restoring normal flight operations.
The Secretary of Homeland Security said the incident had no connection with Microsoft and that no cyberattack had taken place. He added that the situation appeared to be moving in the right direction and clarified that not all telecommunications and radar services had been suspended during the ground stop.
Meanwhile, the US Transportation Secretary said excessive data pressure caused switches and routers to shut down, disrupting the aviation system. He stated that approximately $50 billion would be required to upgrade the air traffic control system and warned that recovery from Friday’s disruption would take time.
## US Transportation Secretary Seeks Emergency Funding from Congress
The US Transportation Secretary has urged Congress to provide emergency funding to restore the country’s aviation system.
He warned that thousands of passengers might have to spend the night at airports until the system was fully restored. According to him, authorities shut down the air traffic control system because of an unstable communications network, and it would take time for flight operations to return to normal.
## More Than 13,000 Flights Affected by Technical Failure
Earlier, US aviation authorities had ordered the suspension of flight departures from airports across the country. Media reports said there had been no official confirmation of a cyberattack or sabotage involving the aviation system.
According to the FAA, incoming international flights to the United States would be assessed individually. Officials said the technical malfunction had affected radar operations and air traffic control capabilities.
The US Transportation Secretary said 22 air traffic control centres had been affected, while FAA technical experts were investigating the cause of the disruption.
The suspension of operations in the United States also caused widespread disruption to international aviation. More than 26,000 flights worldwide, including services in Asia, Europe and Canada, were delayed, while approximately 3,000 flights were cancelled, affecting around 1.5 million passengers.
The FBI was also investigating the incident, according to news agency reports.
Homeland Security Chief Markwayne Mullin said there was no need for the public to panic and confirmed that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation.
He said records of all flights were available and that services had been suspended because of communication failures at air traffic control centres.
He further stated that the possibility of artificial intelligence-related issues or a cyberattack could not be entirely ruled out, but stressed that the incident was not comparable to the September 11 attacks. He also clarified that the ground stop had not been imposed because of a security threat.
According to US television reports, radio frequencies were also affected by the technical malfunction. *The Wall Street Journal* reported that more than 13,000 flights across the United States had been disrupted.
Eurocontrol said all flights from Europe to the United States had been temporarily suspended because of the disruption to the American aviation system.
Microsoft also denied any connection between its services and the aviation malfunction. US President Donald Trump said the flight crisis did not appear to have been caused by a cyberattack or artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, the US National Weather Service also experienced nationwide internet and communication problems, affecting public access to weather information on its websites. The agency said technical experts were working to resolve the issue.
