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Newer FAA equipment kept working during outage, Duffy says

At the White House briefing, officials cited aging infrastructure while stressing that investigators had found no evidence of a cyberattack.

Channel: CTV News ·

CanadaStory of November 15, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Outdated technology to blame for airline ground stop, not likely a cyberattack: Duffy

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0:21Mullin says nothing indicates a cyberattack, but the investigation remains open.
1:23Mullin calls outdated air traffic control systems a national security risk and urges congressional funding.
2:26Duffy attributes the overload to aging routers, switches and copper communications lines.
2:46Duffy says airspace has reopened after fixes reduced overload and brought facilities back online.
3:23Duffy says newer equipment remained functional, reinforcing his case for infrastructure replacement.

Newer equipment stayed operational while older parts of America's air traffic communications network became overloaded, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says in a briefing carried by Canada's CTV News.

That distinction underpins his explanation of the nationwide departure halt and his appeal for Congress to fund modernization. Duffy describes aging switches, routers and copper lines as the problem, saying fixes reduced the overload and allowed facilities to come back online. By the briefing, the Federal Aviation Administration had lifted the national ground stop.

The exchange begins with a reporter asking whether router instability and excessive data traffic could have resulted from a cyberattack or rogue AI. Duffy hands the cybersecurity question to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who says investigators have found no evidence of a cyberattack and no indication of malicious actors claiming responsibility. He nevertheless leaves the investigation open rather than presenting that preliminary finding as a final conclusion.

Mullin calls the outdated air traffic control infrastructure "a national security risk" and urges lawmakers to approve funding for its replacement.

Returning to the lectern, Duffy contrasts the older network with the equipment that continued functioning. His argument is that restoring service addresses the immediate disruption, but does not remove the need to replace vulnerable infrastructure. A separate follow-up report says airline passengers continued experiencing delays after the departure restriction was lifted.

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