What is an Air Route Traffic Control Center?
The New York Air Route Traffic Control Center in Ronkonkoma, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
According to the Secretary of Transporation Sean Duffy, the nationwide ground stop was issued after a communication problem between the FAA's Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
There are 22 in the United States and they control the flow of traffic through sectors of air across the country.
The New York Control Center is located in Ronkonkoma.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said it’s not yet known what caused the communications outages, but “we’re gonna find out what happened.”
He added that he’s not going to make assumptions and encouraged others to do the same.
Asked if there may be a connection to Thursday’s Microsoft outage, Mullin said officials are not ruling anything out.
Officials are dealing with midair flights on a case-by-case basis and working to help them land safely, he added.
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