US Reopens Airspace After Nationwide Flight Disruption, Rules Out Cyberattack

The United States has reopened its airspace after a nationwide flight suspension grounded departing aircraft for more than four hours, disrupting thousands of flights across the country.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the restrictions on Friday evening after a communications failure affected air traffic control centres responsible for coordinating aircraft movements across the country.

US Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, announced that the airspace had reopened at 8:15pm Eastern Time, while warning that normal flight operations would take time to resume.

He explained that the disruption was linked to outdated telecommunications equipment, including switches and routers that became overloaded with data and subsequently failed.

Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, ruled out a cyberattack as the likely cause, saying investigators had found no evidence of malicious interference or a coordinated attack against the country.

He also dismissed speculation linking the incident to a Microsoft outage, although he said security agencies would continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the failure.

The FAA had earlier ordered a nationwide ground stop at 3:54pm Eastern Time on Friday, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns.

Aircraft already airborne were permitted to continue to their destinations, while departing flights were grounded. Some international services were handled on a case-by-case basis.

According to aviation analytics company Cirium, at least 827 flights had been diverted by 7:05pm Eastern Time, with 670 returning to their departure airports and 157 redirected elsewhere.

The disruption also affected thousands of passengers, with more than 4,700 flights cancelled and approximately 10,000 delayed on Friday, according to FlightRadar24.

Another 700 flights scheduled for Saturday had also been cancelled as airlines struggled to reorganise their operations.

Duffy acknowledged that restoring normal services would take time, as airlines needed to reposition aircraft, coordinate flight crews and accommodate stranded passengers.

The incident has renewed concerns about the condition of America's air traffic control infrastructure, which officials say requires substantial modernisation.

Duffy called on Congress to support a proposed $50bn investment in upgrading the country's air traffic control system, warning that further disruptions could occur without improvements to the ageing equipment.

The nationwide grounding was among the most significant aviation disruptions in the United States since the September 11, 2001, attacks.