US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confirmed that aging equipment caused the suspension of air traffic across the United States, explaining that “network switches and routers were overwhelmed by a massive influx of data, leading to their failure.”
Duffy clarified that US authorities did not lose all communications or radar systems during the period when aircraft departures were halted, and he called for the allocation of $50 billion to modernize air traffic control systems. He also noted that tens of thousands of travelers remain stranded due to the disruption in air traffic, warning that many may be forced to spend the night at airports.
For his part, US Senator Markwayne Mullin who serves on committees related to national security affirmed that the United States has not been subjected to any cyberattack, emphasizing that there is no connection between the disruption to air travel and Microsoft. He added that he has seen no evidence to suggest that the incident was caused by a cyberattack or linked to artificial intelligence.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced shortly before that it had lifted the ground stop on flights across the United States—a measure that had brought air traffic to a complete standstill—while the tracking website FlightRadar reported that more than 8,000 flights had been canceled nationwide.
Source: Agencies (translated and edited by Al-Manar)