'It's not another September 11th', says Trump's secretary about the suspension of flights in the USA

In an interview with journalists at the White House this Friday (13), Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, stated that the problems that caused the suspension of plane takeoffs in the country will take a prolonged period to be resolved, but said he sees no signs that the country is under attack.

"We have no reason to believe that, at this time, this is a threat to the United States. This is a telecommunications problem that affects the entire FAA," he said, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to the secretary, all flights had been accounted for and there would be a list of priorities as aircraft already in the air arrived in the USA.

"There was no prior indication that this was an attack. People don't need to worry about their loved ones traveling," Mullin continued. "This is not another 9/11. People are making that association because that was the last time we had a national ground transportation shutdown. This is a telecommunications disruption. It's a very different situation."

The reference made by Mullin is to the fact that a measure of the type that covers the entire American territory, affecting thousands of flights and millions of passengers, has only happened twice in the last 25 years. The first was on September 11, 2001, when attacks committed by Al Qaeda led the FAA to halt all takeoffs.

The second was in 2023, when a crash in the FAA's computer system in January of that year forced the agency to suspend all flights in the country. The suspension only lasted from 7:30 am to 9 am, but the effects lasted for twelve hours.

The secretary, however, admitted that it may take time for the situation to return to normal. “This will not be resolved and normalized in just an hour,” he said.

"It will take some time. But once again, everyone is safe. All flights have been accounted for, and there is no reason for the public to be afraid."

The FAA ordered the suspension of takeoffs at all airports in the country. Landings of aircraft that are already in the air are permitted. The measure is due to a communication problem that affects all air traffic control centers on American routes, said US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. FAA technicians are investigating the problem, he said.

Almost 8,000 flights in the US were delayed or canceled by 7pm (Brasília time), according to data from flight monitoring platform FlightAware. The determination establishes a strike throughout the American territory. There is no forecast for the resumption of takeoffs.