US aviation halted by telecoms failure; Transport Secretary seeks funds

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Nov, 02:38 · Archive

A failure in aging telecommunications equipment forced a nationwide halt to US airport departures on Friday.

A failure in aging telecommunications equipment forced a nationwide halt to departures from US airports on Friday, stranding tens of thousands of Americans and disrupting travel plans for millions more.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had found no evidence of a cyberattack but were not ruling it out. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the problem as the failure of 'old hardware' affecting air traffic controllers at regional hubs across the country. Officials acknowledged the limits of their knowledge about what had happened and when it would be resolved, rather than projecting false certainty.

Duffy called for $30 billion (France 24 reports) or $50 billion (New York Post reports) in federal funding to upgrade the FAA's network infrastructure.

How it is being reported

• Michael Goodwin: Transportation Secretary Duffy’s call for more cash was off key. Money alone won’t fix the FAA.Hardware failures caused thousands of flight disruptions as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy requested $50 billion for FAA network upgrades.New York Post · 15 Nov, 02:26
• US Transport Secretary asks Congress for $30 bn to upgrade aviation infrastructureA failure in aging telecommunications equipment Friday forced a nationwide halt to departures from US airports. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says officials have found no evidence so far of a cyberattack, but that they're not ruling it out. Details by Jack Pownall.France 24 · 14 Nov, 16:32

In this story: Sean Duffy · Markwayne Mullin · FAA · United States

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