Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told viewers on ABC’s This Week that a problematic air‑traffic‑control router in Arkansas was taken offline, ending the rare nationwide ground stop that halted flights on Friday. The router’s ability to broadcast data was disabled after officials discovered it was flooding the network with inconsistent information.
Investigation moves to Florida lab
Duffy explained that the router is now being examined at an L3Harris laboratory in Florida, where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) team, the FBI and other law‑enforcement partners are working together to determine the root cause. “We have 69 of these routers in the national airspace,” he said, “and we shut down their ability to broadcast until we can be sure the system is safe.”
Local impact and swift recovery
The outage forced a ground stop at 3:54 p.m. Friday, grounding millions of travelers for more than four hours. After the router was isolated, the FAA restored the network and reopened the airspace at 8:15 p.m. Duffy emphasized that the quick response kept pilots and passengers safe, and that the FAA’s rapid action prevented a longer disruption.
Modernization needed
During a briefing with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, Duffy said the incident highlighted the aging nature of the nation’s ATC infrastructure. He urged Congress to appropriate “tens of billions of dollars” to replace outdated copper wiring with fiber‑optic cables and to build a new, secure telecommunications architecture for the system. Duffy noted that telecom providers AT&T, Verizon and Lumens are ready to begin work as soon as funding is secured, projecting completion by the end of 2028 or early 2029.
Funding request meets partisan scrutiny
While Duffy pointed out that the FAA received $12.5 billion in the recent transportation bill, he clarified that none of those funds are earmarked for the new telecom architecture. “They gave me money for towers, radios and radar, but not for the software and fiber network that will keep our skies safe,” he said.
Democratic leaders expressed skepticism, noting that the Department of Transportation has only obligated $4.3 billion of the $12.5 billion allocation and that a large portion remains unspent. Rep. Rick Larsen (D‑WA) and Rep. André Carson (D‑IN) questioned the need for additional money, citing the unspent balance.
No evidence of sabotage or cyberattack
Duffy reiterated that investigators have found no sign of a cyber‑attack or sabotage. “If the FBI finds something, we will share it with the American people,” he said, adding that the focus remains on fixing the equipment issue.
What this means for travelers
By disabling the errant router and moving the investigation to a secure lab, the administration demonstrated a commitment to protecting families and keeping the nation’s air travel system reliable. The push for a modern, resilient ATC network aligns with the Trump administration’s broader goal of strengthening critical infrastructure while respecting the Constitution’s guarantee of safe, efficient transportation for all citizens.
Original reporting: Allentown News – 6abc Philadelphia — read the source article.
