The United States suspends air operations due to the failure of communication systems

This Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the suspension of all flights in the United States due to the breakdown of communication systems in air transport control centers. The official cable, sent to all airports in the country, cites “extraordinary circumstances and for security reasons” and orders that all air traffic “remain grounded until further notice.”

The Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, later confirmed, through his social networks, that there has been “a communication problem that affects all air traffic control centers en route” and added that “FAA technicians are investigating the problem.”

The last time a suspension of all flights in the country was ordered was in January 2023, when communication with the pilots stopped working due to a computer system breakdown. Before that episode, the last national suspension occurred after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

In addition to ordering the suspension of all flights at US airports, the FAA has reported that international flights will be managed "on a case-by-case basis" and has ordered those that were already in the air, about 3,100 according to FlightRadar24, to fly over certain routes in circles instead of landing, due to "equipment breakdowns."

Although it is still not clear what the failure was that caused the communications to drop, the truth is that the aviation sector has been complaining for some time that the system is obsolete and must be renewed. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to renovate it and the White House had requested another $30.1 billion to fix other related problems.