Outdated communications system failure grounds flights across the US

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an order on Friday 13 November 2026 halting departures and landings at all US airports. The restriction was brief. Flights resumed shortly after 8:16pm Eastern Time, after more than four and a half hours.

What caused the failure

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference after flights resumed that the problem was a failure of an old, analogue communications system. He said it was overloaded with data, including through communications devices, switches and routers. Duffy added that the digital equipment the administration had installed did not report any problems.

Markwayne Mullin, head of the Department of Homeland Security, who appeared alongside Duffy, said the available information suggested the failure happened while the FAA was patching the system and introducing new equipment. In his assessment, the new element overloaded the older infrastructure. The US government is still working out whether the cause was incompetence or faulty equipment.

Cost of upgrade

Mullin estimated that building a new air traffic control system would cost 50 billion US dollars in total. Congress has so far allocated 12.5 billion dollars for this purpose. Duffy renewed his call for more funding.

What this means for you

According to the FAA, decisions on incoming international flights were being made on a case-by-case basis. Polish media reported that some LOT flights were delayed, although no figures were given. People planning to travel to the United States should check the status of their flight with their airline.