The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a rare nationwide ground stop for all airports Friday -- a more than four-hour disruption that snarled travel from coast to coast with canceled flights and stranded passengers.
At a White House news conference Friday night, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed old technology that became overloaded and called on Congress to provide billions more in funding to modernize critical equipment, calling the situation an "emergency."
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters there was no indication the incident stemmed from a cyberattack, but that officials were still investigating.
Thousands of flights were canceled amid the ground stop.
"I believe that it's going to take us some time to get back to capacity," Duffy said when asked how long air travelers should expect delays and cancellations to continue.
Saturday flight cancellations top 5,200 as airlines work to get operations back up
Over 5,200 flights have been canceled on Saturday as airlines continue to work around the clock to get operations back up on Saturday.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the system will be fully recovered on Sunday. As of 3:30 p.m. ET, 160 flights have been canceled on Sunday.
"Based on everything that we’re hearing from our airline partners, they believe that they’ll be able to have full schedule integrity by the close of business on Sunday," he said.
Nearly 9,200 flights were canceled on Friday.
2:20 PM EST
Contractor releases statement on ground stop
Contractor L3Harris released a statement saying it takes the ground stop and its impact on travelers "seriously" after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the company was updating communication infrastructure shortly before the ground stop.
"We are supporting the FAA in its investigation to understand the conditions that led to the Nov. 13 ground stop of our nation’s air travel. L3Harris takes the nationwide ground stop and its impact on travelers, airlines and air traffic operations seriously," L3Harris said in a statement.
L3Harris Technologies signage is displayed above the company's booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.
Luke Sharrett/Getty Images, FILE
"L3Harris has been modernizing the communication infrastructure supporting the National Airspace System in coordination with the FAA. With safety and reliability as our highest priorities, L3Harris, together with its telco partners and the FAA, has completed more than 70% of the planned airspace communications conversion from legacy copper wires to a fiber optic system," the company said.
Duffy said earlier that L3Harris was replacing copper equipment when a router started flooding other routers in the air traffic control system. This then caused instability that led officials to order a ground stop on Friday.
1:44 PM EST
American Airlines adds fare caps, more seats with extra flights
American Airlines announced it is adding fare caps across their domestic and short international flights as delays are expected to continue after Friday's national ground stop.
The airline said it has added 1,750 seats with extra flights on Saturday.
To aid in recovery on Saturday, pilots and flight attendants commuting to their bases can book confirmed seats and the airline is also giving crews premium pay for certain flights.
An American Airlines passenger plane moves to a departure gate at Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va., after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the nationwide ground stop, Nov. 14, 2026.
Cliff Owen/AP Photo
11:47 AM EST
New York governor calls on Duffy to resign
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to resign or President Donald Trump should remove him "immediately" on Saturday.
"From chronic air traffic controller shortages to repeated communications breakdowns, serious lapses in our aviation system have become a pattern on Sean Duffy’s watch. Through it all, he’s been more focused on starring in his own reality show than addressing the crisis at his agency," Hochul said in a statement Saturday.
"With millions of Americans preparing to travel for the holidays, families deserve answers and confidence in the safety of our skies. Congress must launch a full investigation to determine what went wrong and ensure it never happens again," Hochul said.
