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IrelandDuffy blames overloaded legacy telecoms for US flight shutdown
Sky News carries officials' explanation of the communications failure, alongside assurances that no evidence points to a cyber attack.
Sky News
Story of Why this story? One of Sky News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 109,541 views.
White House rules out cyber attack after all US flights grounded
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Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 3:51Mullin says he sees no reason to connect the flight shutdown with the Microsoft outages.
- 13:28NATS confirms UK airspace systems are unaffected, but advises travellers to check their flight status.
- 30:15Stranded aviation expert Paul Charles warns that the logistical backlog could last days.
- 37:37Duffy attributes radar and communications instability to router data overloads in legacy TDM telecommunications systems.
- 44:52Officials say they have found no evidence of a cyber attack.
- 56:06Duffy confirms the reopening and says intermittent communications triggered the precautionary shutdown.
Overloaded equipment in ageing telecommunications systems caused the instability that prompted the nationwide US departure halt, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says in Sky News's extended coverage.
His explanation adds a technical account to the shutdown and reopening already reported: router data overloads in legacy TDM networks disrupted radar and communications, leading authorities to stop departures as a precaution. Duffy says intermittent communications prompted the decision, and confirms that US airspace subsequently reopened.
Despite the video's headline saying the White House has ruled out a cyber attack, the officials' wording is narrower. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says they have seen no evidence of one. Earlier in the broadcast, he also says he sees no reason to connect the aviation failure with the Microsoft service outages.
Mullin repeatedly reassures passengers that they were not in danger. Duffy, meanwhile, calls for emergency funding from Congress to replace obsolete infrastructure with modern IP systems. "The patchwork doesn't work. We need one complete system," Mullin says.
For British travellers, Sky reads a statement from National Air Traffic Services confirming that UK airspace systems are unaffected, while advising passengers to check their flight status.
The report drew about 110,000 views since yesterday. Its passenger perspective comes from aviation expert Paul Charles, himself stranded in New York, who warns that recovering aircraft and crew schedules could leave a backlog lasting days.
US secretary of transportation and a Republican. He previously represented Wisconsin’s seventh district in the US House of Representatives.
More on Wikipedia ›US secretary of homeland security since 2026 and a Republican. He previously represented Oklahoma in the US Senate.
More on Wikipedia ›The organisation providing air traffic control for flights across UK flight information regions and part of the North Atlantic. It also serves 16 UK airports.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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- Channel
- Sky News
- Subscribers
- 9,400,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 22,228,397
- Channel views, pace per day
- 4,213,205 (on a normal day: 2,756,213)
- Video published
- November 14, 2026
- Video views so far
- 109,541 (less than a day online)
The numbers
This was Sky News's most-watched new video since yesterday.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which organisation confirms that UK airspace systems are unaffected in Sky's report?
Sky reads a statement from National Air Traffic Services, known as NATS, confirming its UK systems are unaffected.