Duffy explains cause of nationwide ground stop
Sean Duffy, US Secretary of Transportation, left, and Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, at a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. Credit: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference inside the White House that at 3:36 p.m., the system experienced instability for radar and communications at its centers.
“We had 3,500 planes in the air,” when the ground stop happened. “What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system.”
Specifically, Duffy attributed the failure to “legacy hardware” — old switches and routers using what he described as 1980s-era analog and copper lines. He said those became overloaded with data.
Duffy pressed Congress for funding.
“What we want to do,” Duffy said, “the president has asked for $30 billion. I want $50 billion.”
Duffy also said that it's going to take the FAA "time to unwind what happened this afternoon.”
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