November 15, 2026
American airports witnessed widespread disruptions in air traffic, resulting in the cancellation of more than 16,000 flights during Friday and Saturday, following a major technical failure in communications systems that led to a complete cessation of flights for four hours, amid a state of severe confusion among the ranks of passengers.
On Saturday, the US Civil Aviation Authority announced the toll of widespread cancellations, while the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Brian Bedford, explained during a press conference that Friday witnessed the inability to reschedule 12,000 flights, including about 9,000 commercial flights and 3,000 private flights. He added that estimates indicate the cancellation of between 4,000 and 5,000 flights out of 41,000 flights scheduled for Saturday.
Although flights gradually resumed after the authorities lifted the flight ban at 8:15 pm Eastern Coast time (01:15 GMT), delays and cancellations continued at various airports. This left thousands of passengers in a state of confusion and anticipation, especially after some of them were disembarked from the planes before take-off and the inability of airline employees to provide clear explanations.
This is only the second incident of its kind since the attacks of September 11, 2001, in which a no-fly decision was issued covering US airspace, which is among the busiest in the world.
In a related context, the US Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, announced via the “X” platform that operations are gradually returning to normal, warning at the same time of continued delays and cancellations so that airlines can reschedule flights and direct their planes and crews towards the locations most in need.
The authorities attributed the technical defect to the outdated infrastructure and its centuries-old reliance on outdated systems, categorically denying the existence of any act of sabotage. Duffy explained that the problem lies in a system that relies on outdated transformers, routers, and fine copper wires dating back to the 1980s, stressing that the system was paralyzed in various locations as a result of it being exposed to loads that exceeded its capacity.
This catastrophic malfunction comes one day after Minister Duffy submitted an official request to Congress to approve funding worth $30 billion, allocated to modernize and develop the air traffic control system. After the flight ban was lifted, Duffy renewed his urgent demand, saying: “I will repeat it a million times: Congress must give the president the necessary resources.”
For their part, members of Congress called, on Saturday, to open an expanded investigation to determine the exact reasons behind this defect, and to verify the efficiency of the national protection system against attacks and cybercrimes, despite official assurances that there are no criminal or sabotage suspicions.
