Ground Stop Highlights Chronic Vulnerabilities in Air Traffic System

A nationwide ground stop on Friday exposed persistent weaknesses in the F.A.A.’s ageing air traffic control network, after an attempt to replace an outdated router overloaded circuits and cut communications between controllers and pilots. The disruption was the third nationwide ground stop issued by the agency this century and renewed concerns about whether the system has adequate backups to prevent future failures.

By Saturday, thousands of flights had been cancelled and airports remained crowded with stranded travellers; recovery was expected to take days as airlines rebooked passengers and repositioned aircraft. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for $50 billion in emergency funding, while Democratic lawmakers questioned the request because the F.A.A. had not spent most of the $12.5 billion Congress previously allocated. A Government Accountability Office report found the agency was managing 11,389 separate modernisation projects, warning that poor coordination could lead to delays and cost overruns.