The White House has broken its silence on the nationwide flight grounding that disrupted thousands of U.S. Flights, with top officials blaming decades-old technology and demanding emergency funding to rebuild the system.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin addressed reporters at a briefing about the mass disruption, which began at 3:36pm when instability rippled across radar and communications systems at air traffic control centers and terminal radar approach control facilities nationwide. More than 3,500 aircraft were airborne when officials made the call to halt flights as a precautionary measure.
Duffy stressed that the decision was made to protect passengers, noting that fewer than 400 aircraft remained in the airspace when he last checked. He clarified that the FAA had not completely lost radar or telecommunications capabilities, but the instability was severe enough to warrant the extraordinary nationwide ground stop.
The root cause, according to Duffy, lies in equipment dating back to the 1980s. The system still relies on older telecommunications technology, including copper lines, alongside ageing switches and routers. Those components became overloaded with data, triggering the instability that forced officials to act.
He pointed out that newer equipment installed as part of ongoing improvements had continued working during the incident. Some older switches had already been replaced with newer internet protocol switches, which did not experience the same failure.
Mullin addressed swirling speculation about malicious interference. He said officials had seen ‘zero evidence’ of a cyberattack or an artificial intelligence-related attack, adding that the failure appeared to be mechanically driven, although investigations were continuing.
The incident has intensified calls for Congress to fund a complete overhaul of the country’s air traffic control network. Duffy said President Donald Trump had already secured $12.5 billion through the One Big Beautiful Bill, which is being used to begin replacing outdated infrastructure. However, he argued that the money would not be enough to complete the project and called for an additional $50 billion in emergency funding.
He described the situation as a national emergency and urged lawmakers from both parties to support the investment.
Mullin also warned that the condition of the infrastructure represented a national security risk, arguing that years of delays in upgrading the system had left significant vulnerabilities.
Duffy acknowledged that replacing the network would not happen overnight, but said work was already underway. He added that the administration wanted Congress to provide the resources needed to build a completely new system, rather than continue making smaller repairs to ageing equipment.
The nationwide ground stop affected thousands of flights and stranded travelers across the country after the FAA detected system-wide instability in its radar and communications infrastructure.
Duffy has also issued a statement on social media about the incident.