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Transportation secretary says he doesn’t apologize for FAA’s nationwide ground stop
NBC News • • general
Key Points:
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declined to apologize for the nationwide ground stop caused by a router issue, instead blaming decades of underinvestment and previous administrations for failing to modernize the air traffic control system.
- The FAA issued a national ground stop on Friday after contractor L3Harris’s work on replacing a copper line with fiber led to a router overwhelming the FAA telecommunications network, causing thousands of flight cancellations and widespread travel disruption.
- Duffy expects normal airport and airline operations to resume by Monday, citing the time needed for airlines to reposition crews and aircraft after the disruption.
- He emphasized the need for further congressional funding to modernize the air traffic control system, pointing out that the current $12.5 billion allocation does not cover critical telecom and software upgrades necessary to prevent future failures.
- Duffy and OMB Director Russell Vought recently requested $30.1 billion from Congress to upgrade airports and the national airspace system, urging bipartisan support to ensure safety and modernization efforts continue without delay.
