FAA ground stop aftermath cancels thousands of Saturday flights: What to know
FAA ground stop: Duffy blames contractor & old equipment
BREAKING: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says investigators are looking into whether a contractor's installation error or a faulty router caused a failure in the nation's air traffic control system. The issue surfaced during an upgrade from copper to fiber connections, when a router being replaced began overwhelming other routers across the network. Officials are now investigating whether the disruption was caused by a contractor mistake or an equipment malfunction.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday that air traffic operations had fully resumed after a telecommunications problem disrupted flights Friday, prompting a ground stop while about 3,500 aircraft were airborne.
What caused the FAA ground stop?
What they're saying:
At a news conference, Duffy said preliminary findings pointed to work at a remote Federal Aviation Administration location, where contractor L3Harris was replacing aging copper telecommunications lines with fiber.
A router involved in that work began flooding other routers with more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds, disrupting communications with aircraft and some radar feeds, Duffy said.
Officials were still determining whether the problem stemmed from a faulty router or an installation error. Duffy said authorities did not believe a cyberattack was responsible.
"Once we were able to isolate the work that was being done at this remote location, all of our systems came back online," he said.
In a statement Saturday, L3Harris explained that it has been working in close coordination with the FAA on the conversion from legacy copper wires to a fiber optic system, and indicated the project is 70% completed.
"We are supporting the FAA in its investigation to understand the conditions that led to the Nov. 13 ground stop of our nation’s air travel," the statement continued.
Duffy credited air traffic controllers and pilots with safely landing the aircraft and thanked passengers for their patience during the disruption.
He also urged Congress to provide additional funding to modernize the air traffic control system. Duffy said the FAA has replaced 69% of its copper communications with high-speed fiber as part of upgrades supported by $12.5 billion Congress provided.
"Americans want less delays. They want less cancellations," Duffy said.
3,000+ flights cancelled after nationwide ground stop
Nationwide flight delays and cancellations continue following Friday's ground stop. As of Saturday morning more than 3,000 flights have been cancelled and 1,000 are delayed despite the ground stop being lifted.
Saturday flights canceled
By the numbers:
More than 2,500 flights were canceled in the U.S. on Saturday and hundreds more were delayed, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.
An airport departures board displaying multiple flights marked as canceled is seen in Krakow, Poland, on November 14, 2026. The cancellations follow a nationwide flight ground stop ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a communic
That’s on top of more than 9,000 canceled flights and 7,000 delayed flights on Friday.
When will flights be back to normal?
Timeline:
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the air travel schedule should be back to normal by the end of Sunday. He said airlines "will still have delays and cancellations" Saturday but assured the "worst is behind us."
Will passengers get refunds?
What you can do:
Airlines are obligated to offer free rebooking on another flight for travelers who want to continue their journey, or a refund if their flight was canceled and they decide not to take the trip.
Delta and United announced they were offering travel waivers.
MORE: Airlines issue travel waivers during national ground stop
Passengers should contact their airlines for information about their flights and any potential compensation, the FAA said.
Dig deeper:
A new rule that went into effect last month could make it harder for airline customers to get compensated.
Effective Oct. 19, the Department of Transportation removed 10 events from being considered "within an airline's control," removing the ability for flyers to be compensated.
RELATED: Nationwide ground stop: How new DOT rule could affect compensation for flight delays
Among the 10 events are "government system failures," or unexpected shutdowns or technical failures of government systems that directly impact safe flight operations.
What about Thanksgiving travel?
What's next:
Duffy suggested more disruptions might occur in coming days, but officials say the system is likely to be operating normally in time to handle the Thanksgiving travel rush.
The Source: This article includes information from The Associated Press, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and previous FOX Local reporting.