Duffy Blames Past Administrations for 4-Hour US Flight Stoppage

Congress has approved $12.5 billion for the changeover from old copper wire to fiber optic cable. Duffy said that money is limited in scope. He said none of it can pay for new telecom architecture, new airspace software or new towers.

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a Democrat, said the administration has not properly invested the funds it already has. "It's really rich to hear the secretary pointing the fingers at Congress when Congress has given the administration what they asked for," he said. He added that he would support what is necessary for a safe, reliable system.

The administration had sought a further $30 billion. On Friday Duffy called for $50 billion instead, saying, "This is an emergency."

What caused the halt

The FAA is still investigating the root cause, Duffy said. He said the work in question, replacing old telecommunication lines with fiber optic cables, has happened "thousands of times" without problems.

The contractor, L3Harris, is reportedly running diagnostic tests. Duffy said he has seen no sign of a foreign cyberattack.

At a Saturday news conference, Duffy said officials were working to determine whether the fault was user or installer error, or a faulty router. "Our contractor didn't meet the moment," he said. He added that the timing of such updates, on a Friday afternoon when air travel is busiest, will be reevaluated.

The union Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, which represents more than 11,000 FAA workers, said its technicians were not involved in the upgrades. Its statement said the issue was isolated to two routers owned and maintained by the contractor.

Trump's response and market reaction

President Donald Trump waited until Sunday to comment publicly. In a Truth Social post he blamed former President Joe Biden's administration and wrote, "we need Congress to give the money, FAST!"

Asked why it took two days, Duffy said he was in constant contact with the president behind the scenes.

Shares of American, Delta and United Airlines fell between 1% and 2% late Friday. JetBlue and L3Harris shares were down 3%.

Because the FAA ordered the grounding, airlines are not legally required to compensate passengers. Bedford said on Saturday that everyone will either be rebooked or receive a full refund. He said he hoped schedules would return to normal sometime Sunday.