Officials Cite Overloaded Routers in FAA Ground Stop

Duffy said routers were overloaded by data and described the affected connections as “’80s copper lines.” He said the instability affected communications at Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) and Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs), while newer air traffic control technology was not affected. He called on Congress to provide $50 billion in emergency funding to overhaul the system. The ground stop has since been lifted.

Earlier Friday, sources told CBS News that a reboot of a private communications network used by air traffic controllers had impeded communications at the nation’s 22 regional air traffic control centers. The FAA was still investigating the blackout as of 6 p.m. ET, according to insiders cited by the outlet.

Speculation online linked the outage to the FAA’s new AI-powered Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories (SMART) system or to a recent Microsoft outage. Air Space Intelligence, which developed SMART, denied the tool was involved. Microsoft said it had no indication that its services were related to the ground stop.

Asked whether AI played a role, Mullin said officials could not “rule anything out.” He said there was no indication of a cybersecurity attack, while adding that interference could not be ruled out entirely. “There’s nothing completely certain right now. It does not appear that way,” he said. Mullin also said the public was never in danger and no lives or flights were at risk.