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I just can't repeat that enough," he said, seeking to reassure the public that the disruption was not linked to a terrorist threat.Asked whether a cyberattack could eventually be identified as the cause, Mullin said authorities were "not ruling out anything at this point".The Homeland Security chief also dismissed suggestions that the aviation disruption was connected to a major global Microsoft outage that had affected public services around the world."I….
Those are separate issues," he said.Mullin said all flights had been accounted for and that incoming international flights would be handled on a "case-by-case basis".
He warned, however, that restoring normal operations could take time."This isn't going to just be resolved and turned around within the hour," he said.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the nationwide ground stop followed a communications failure affecting all 22 regional Air Route Traffic Control Centres, which manage aircraft movements between airports.
The agency said technicians were investigating the problem.The FAA described the measure as a precaution taken for safety reasons, saying a temporary telecommunications outage had affected its operations.
Departures were suspended across US airports, while incoming international flights were to be managed individually.The disruption left passengers stranded at airports and caused widespread delays and cancellations.
Nearly 7,000 flights across the United States had been delayed or cancelled, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware, as the ground stop continued on Friday.Major airlines, including United and American, warned passengers of widespread disruption.
Some travellers were left waiting aboard aircraft or returned to departure gates as airport operations were affected.At Las Vegas airport, a Southwest Airlines check-in desk reportedly told passengers that no flights would be taking off for 24 hours, although the FAA had not announced such a nationwide timeline.The disruption also affected aircraft already in the air, with the FAA's safety measures and subsequent operational arrangements aimed at ensuring flights could….
Mullin said authorities had accounted for every flight.The incident marked the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when the FAA suspended departures following a computer failure affecting its Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system.
The system provides pilots with information about potential hazards, changes to airport facilities and other developments relevant to flight operations.That disruption lasted just under two hours.
Before the 2023 incident, the previous nationwide grounding had followed the September 11, 2001 attacks.Friday's communications failure renewed scrutiny of the ageing US air traffic control infrastructure, which has faced repeated calls for modernisation.The incident came a day after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy formally requested $30.1 billion from Congress to upgrade and modernise the country's air traffic control system."This investment is critical to complete the modernisation of our national airspace….
The latest funding request seeks additional resources for a broader overhaul of the system.The FAA has experienced similar communications-related restrictions in recent years, although these have generally affected individual airlines, airports or regions rather than the entire national aviation network.The precise cause of Friday's disruption remained unclear, with authorities continuing to investigate whether the failure stemmed from a technical malfunction or another issue.
US grounds all departing flights countrywide over air traffic communications glitch Homeland Security chief says no indication of deliberate attack but officials are not ruling out possibilities.
