FAA ground stop: Employee reveals possible cause
What's the story
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop for all departing flights on Friday due to "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." The exact cause of the disruption has not been officially disclosed by the agency. However, an FAA employee hinted at a possible cyberattack. Journalist Anna Giaritelli of the Washington Examiner reported on X that an unnamed FAA employee suspected a serious issue affecting large parts of the country.
Employee insight
FAA employee wouldn't rule out a cyber attack
The FAA employee said, "Being that it is affecting a lot of the country, I'd say it's a major issue with AI-type implications."
However, they also added that they "wouldn't rule out a cyber attack though."
This comes after Bryan Bedford and Sean Duffy have been promoting a new AI system all week, which controllers say doesn't affect their work.
Telecom disruption
DHS secretary says no deliberate attack
Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin attributed the ground stop to telecommunications issues. He said there was no current indication of a deliberate attack or threat to national security.
This aligns with what the FAA told air traffic controllers about "rolling frequency outages in multiple centers."
The FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) is a secure network that connects FAA facilities and supports daily air traffic operations across the US National Airspace System.
Presidential statement
Trump rules out cyberattack
President Donald Trump has ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the disruption. He said it could be due to aging infrastructure that he had tried to upgrade.
"Nobody is taking credit for a cyberattack," Trump told Fox News.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said FAA technicians are investigating the issue and promised immediate updates as they become available.
Travel chaos
Massive disruptions at airports across the country
The nationwide ground stop caused major airport disruptions.
FlightRadar24 estimated around 3,100 aircraft were en route to US airports when the order was issued.
FlightAware recorded over 10,000 delays and more than 2,000 cancelations within a short time.
Major airports affected included those in Boston, Atlanta, Miami, and New York, among others.
The FAA has instructed airports to keep all departing traffic on the ground until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
Ongoing investigation
FAA instructs airports to keep all departing traffic on ground
Mullin said Trump had been briefed on the disruption and had spoken with Duffy.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also attended a meeting at the White House's Situation Room regarding this matter.
Federal agencies are working together to address this issue, but no timeline has been set for restoring normal operations as investigations continue into its cause, linked to L3Harris Technologies' network reboot.