Flight disruptions in the US: Duffy rules out cyberattack and points to old copper cables

Thousands of flights at US airports were suspended after an outage in the air traffic control system. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said suspicions about the cause were linked to work to repair old copper cables, although the exact cause has not yet been determined.

At a press conference, Duffy ruled out a cyberattack by a foreign state. He explained that the system resumed operations after authorities isolated the area where the work was taking place.

“We do not believe it was a cyberattack,” he said. According to Duffy, the outage may have been caused by an FAA system or contractor failing to respond at that moment, or by equipment malfunctioning.

The secretary clarified that the fault was not related to the upgrade of the SMART platform, which is designed to help pilots navigate in difficult weather conditions.

Duffy again called on the US Congress to provide additional funding to modernize the air traffic control infrastructure. So far, $12.5 billion has been invested, he said, but more funding is needed to bring the total investment to $50 billion. “How long are we going to wait, America?” he asked, describing upgrades to the current system as urgent.

He acknowledged the considerable inconvenience the outage caused travelers, but stressed that safety is the top priority. Speaking about passengers affected by cancellations, Duffy said: “I want them to get home safely.”

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Brian Bedford apologized to travelers. He said the flight suspension was ordered as a precaution, to give authorities time to identify the problem and reduce pressure on the system.

According to Bedford, the four-hour suspension affected around 20,000 flights. Of those, 8,000 were restored to the schedule, while 12,000 did not operate, including around 9,000 commercial flights.

Bedford warned that between 4,000 and 5,000 of the 41,000 scheduled flights could be canceled during the day, although he said the worst of the situation had passed. He added that problems with the system would continue until the outdated infrastructure was replaced.

Operations gradually began to resume, but delays and cancellations continued to affect thousands of travelers. At the time of reporting, FlightAware data showed 3,807 canceled flights and 2,145 delayed flights.

Delta Air Lines had 652 cancellations, United Airlines 553 and American Airlines 520. Airports among those experiencing the biggest problems included O’Hare in Chicago, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta and John F. Kennedy in New York.

Duffy said authorities were working with airlines to fully restore operations, but warned travelers that delays and cancellations would continue for some time.