At 4 p.m. Eastern on Friday, an FAA order halted takeoffs at airports across the U.S. The grounding lasted four hours and wasn’t lifted until 9:20 a.m. Beijing time this morning. Flight-tracking websites showed nearly 15,000 delays or cancellations, leaving tens of thousands of travelers stuck overnight at airports.
The official explanation was pretty consistent: cyberattack and AI interference were ruled out, and the blame fell on the dedicated air traffic control communications network, which crashed when it was rebooted during an upgrade. Trump said the equipment was simply outdated—some FAA machines had been in use for more than 50 years. This was the second nationwide ground stop since 9/11, and it happened right as the U.S. stock market closed. United Airlines fell 1.7% on Friday, but the market hadn’t really processed what happened yet. The bill probably won’t come due until markets open on Monday.
The official explanation was pretty consistent: cyberattack and AI interference were ruled out, and the blame fell on the dedicated air traffic control communications network, which crashed when it was rebooted during an upgrade. Trump said the equipment was simply outdated—some FAA machines had been in use for more than 50 years. This was the second nationwide ground stop since 9/11, and it happened right as the U.S. stock market closed. United Airlines fell 1.7% on Friday, but the market hadn’t really processed what happened yet. The bill probably won’t come due until markets open on Monday.