Duffy says faulty router caused nationwide flight delay

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Sunday that officials have disabled the data broadcasting capability on 69 air traffic control routers nationwide. This precaution follows an investigation into a specific router in Arkansas that caused a communication failure on Friday afternoon. The failure forced the Federal Aviation Administration to implement a rare nationwide ground stop.

The ground stop began at 3:54 p.m. on Friday and lasted until 8:15 p.m. During those four hours, planes already in the air continued flying while millions of travelers waited on the ground. Duffy told ABC’s This Week that the specific router is now in a laboratory in Florida operated by L3Harris. That company provides technology and IT support for the FAA.

Officials believe the problem started during routine maintenance in El Dorado, Arkansas. Workers were replacing outdated copper wire with fiber cables. When the new router was activated, it began flooding the network with data. Duffy noted that a system in Amarillo, Texas, which had been replaced three weeks earlier, also started to flood the network. The FAA team, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies are examining the equipment to find the root cause.

Duffy stated that current evidence does not point to a cyberattack or deliberate sabotage. He added that the department is working with the FBI to confirm these findings. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said investigators have seen no evidence of nefarious activity or AI-related issues. Bedford described the incident as an equipment issue involving a defective piece of hardware.

The secretary is using the incident to ask Congress for more money to modernize the air traffic control system. He pointed out that the $12.5 billion approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill last year covers radios, radar, and towers, but not the telecom architecture needed for a new network. Duffy said companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Lumens are ready to build the new system, which could be finished by the end of 2028 or the first quarter of 2029.

Democratic lawmakers question the need for additional funding. Rep. Rick Larsen and Rep. André Carson released a statement Saturday noting that the administration has only spent $1 billion of the previously approved $12.5 billion. They argued that $8 billion remains unobligated and $11 billion unspent. L3Harris said in a statement that it is supporting the FAA’s investigation and takes the impact on travelers seriously.