US Transportation Secretary Duffy links flight halt to router overload

A router malfunction during telecommunications upgrades disrupted the US air traffic control network, triggering a nationwide flight halt. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said investigators were examining contractor error and equipment failure, while authorities ruled out a suspected cyberattack preliminarily 

 Washington: A router flooded the US air traffic control network during telecommunications work at a remote facility, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

Offering a preliminary explanation for Friday’s nationwide flight halt at a briefing with Federal Aviation Administration chief Bryan Bedford on Saturday (Local time), Duffy said that investigators had not determined whether contractor error or faulty equipment caused the disruption.

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Duffy identified L3Harris as the contractor replacing old copper telecommunications lines with fibre. He said the router generated more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds, disrupting aircraft communications and radar feeds. “We haven’t determined what the fault was,” Duffy said, according to excerpts published by the Transportation Department.

He said systems recovered after officials isolated the work and that authorities did not believe the disruption was a cyberattack. That assessment was not presented as a completed investigation. Bedford distinguished the work from the separate $12.5 billion air traffic control modernisation programme, describing it as routine maintenance of the existing network.

The department said airspace was open Saturday, although passengers should expect delays and cancellations.

L3Harris said it was helping the FAA investigate the conditions that led to the ground stop. Its statement did not admit responsibility or identify a cause. The company said it had been upgrading communications infrastructure in coordination with the FAA and telecommunications partners, completing more than 70 per cent of the planned conversion from copper wires to fibre.

“L3Harris takes the nationwide ground stop and its impact on travellers, airlines and air traffic operations seriously,” it said. Airlines continued working through the disruption Saturday.

ABC News reported that American Airlines had added 1,750 seats through extra flights and introduced fare caps on domestic and short international routes. Bedford said airline partners expected schedules to recover by the close of business Sunday, according to ABC.

That was an expectation, not confirmation that normal operations had resumed. The FAA imposed the nationwide departure halt Friday after communications problems affected multiple air traffic control centres. Its initial announcement described the information as preliminary and subject to change.