Suspension of flights in the USA: secretary cites inconsistencies between radar and tower and says the air traffic system is old

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed around 10 pm (Brasília time) that it had canceled the suspension of takeoffs in the USA. There were more than four hours of stoppage. It is not yet clear when flights will resume.

Around 4 pm local time (6 pm Brasília time), the FAA had halted all takeoffs in the country, citing a communication failure that affected air traffic control centers. The measure is considered rare and has only happened three times in history.

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said the government has no evidence that the outage was caused by a hacker attack. According to him, the problem was related to a temporary failure in telecommunications services.

TV Globo learned from a source who works in a control tower at a New York airport that the problem had to do with a crossing of radio frequencies.

As a result, more than one aircraft can transmit messages at the same time on the same frequency, which makes communication with controllers difficult.

In practice, professionals cannot clearly identify which plane is talking to the tower.

The FAA expanded the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to all air control centers in the country days before the total shutdown in American aviation. According to information published by the American newspaper "The Washington Times", the new AI tool was implemented in the country's 22 centers on Tuesday, November 10th.

So far, according to the newspaper, the FAA and President Donald Trump's government have not associated the SMART system with the failure that caused the total shutdown.

More than 10 thousand flights delayed or canceled

More than 10,000 flights were delayed or canceled, according to monitoring website FlightAware.

The US government reported that President Donald Trump has already been informed about the situation and that there is no reason for the population to be afraid.

"I want to reinforce: there is no reason for the public to be afraid or worried about their families. This is not a new 9/11. What is happening now is a failure in telecommunications. It is something very different," said Secretary Mullin.

Suspension has global impact

A plane lands after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground flight suspension order "due to extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons." Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, USA — Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The United States is the largest passenger market in the world, with 890.1 million passengers registered in 2025, considering arrivals and departures, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

In Brazil, the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) reported that it is monitoring the situation of grounded flights in the USA and recommends passengers to contact airlines to check the status of their flight or possible changes.

Eurocontrol, the organization responsible for coordinating air traffic in Europe, reported that it has suspended all traffic originating in member countries and going to airports in the United States, at the request of the FAA.

Investigation

File photo: American Airlines planes parked at Miami International Airport on July 17, 2015. — Photo: Alan Diaz/AP

United States Secretary of Transport, Sean Duffy, stated that the failure affects all control centers responsible for traffic on the country's air routes. FAA technicians are investigating the problem, he said.

Microsoft, which faced technical problems this Thursday (12), states that "there is no indication" that the suspension of flights in the USA is related to the company's services.

Bloomberg reported that the FBI does not believe the communications problem was caused by a cyber attack or criminal action.

According to the news agency, American police are investigating whether a software update may have caused the FAA systems to fail.

The episode occurs amid a series of problems in the United States' air traffic control system, which is facing equipment failures, communication problems and a lack of controllers.

The government is trying to modernize the structure, which is aging. Last year, Congress approved $12.5 billion to reform the system. This Friday (13), the FAA and the White House asked parliamentarians for an additional US$30.1 billion to resolve other problems.