US flight chaos: Transport chief warns 'some delays, cancellations' to continue as thousands stranded after flight disruption

Flights across the United States began resuming on Saturday after a nationwide shutdown grounded aircraft for four hours due to communication problems at regional air traffic control centres. However, travellers continued to face delays and cancellations as airlines worked to bring operations back to normal.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy assured passengers that flying was safe but warned that delays and cancellations would continue as airlines adjusted their schedules and moved aircraft and crew to different locations.

"Operations are slowly returning to normal this morning. Planes are pushing back, taxiing, and taking off, and it is safe to fly," Duffy said on X on Saturday.

He added that passengers should expect further disruptions as airlines worked to restore their services.

“You will continue to see some delays and cancellations as carriers reschedule flights and reposition aircraft/crews where they are needed most.”

According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, more than 20,000 flights were affected by the shutdown. By Saturday, over 3,900 flights had been cancelled and another 2,500 delayed across the US.

Also Read: Why did the FAA suddenly ground flights across the US? Officials reveal what went wrong

What caused the US flight disruption?

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the nationwide ground stop on Friday after communication problems and irregularities in radar systems affected air traffic control centres across the country.

The agency later lifted the restrictions, allowing flights to resume. Officials described the situation as involving "extraordinary circumstances".

It was the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a technical problem with an FAA computer system disrupted air travel. It was also only the second such shutdown since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Transportation Secretary Duffy said more than 3,500 aircraft were in the air when the FAA announced the ground stop on Friday. He said authorities safely brought the aircraft down using established procedures.

"We had over 3,500 aeroplanes in the air. They all engaged, and last time I looked, we had less than 400 in the airspace as they were all coming in to safely land. And we navigated it with our well-known procedures that that we have when these incidents happen," he said.

Explaining the decision to ground flights, Duffy said authorities had noticed problems with radar data and communication with aircraft.

He said outdated air traffic control technology and routers overloaded with data were responsible for the nationwide ground stop. “What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system,” Duffy said at a news conference.

US lawmakers call for investigation

The disruption has also raised concerns among US lawmakers, who have called for an investigation into the cause of the outage and the security of the country's aviation infrastructure.

Republican Senator Eric Schmitt said the incident showed the need to upgrade the country's air traffic control systems and airport infrastructure.

"No more kicking the can. If today proves anything, it's that we need to update our air traffic control system & rebuild our airport infrastructure," he said on X.