Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin held a joint press conference at the White House on Friday evening to explain the Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide ground stop.

Duffy began by describing the problem as a failure in long-outdated equipment that supports the air traffic control system. He said the network relies on old switches and routers that still use 1980s-era copper lines. “It’s very easy. We have old, old switches, old routers. We use 1980s little copper lines. It’s an old system that went down and went down everywhere,” Duffy stated.

The secretary further explained that the switches and routers became overloaded with data, began delivering inconsistent information, and prompted officials to shut the system down as a precaution. Duffy added that newer IP switches already installed in some locations did not fail, and he described the overall issue as a “legacy network problem.”

He then called for Congress to provide substantial funding — estimated in his view at roughly $50 billion — for a full modernization rather than continued partial fixes to the decades-old telecommunications infrastructure that connects air route traffic control centers.

🚨 SEC. SEAN DUFFY JUST DROPPED:

"I can't BUILD THINGS if I DON'T HAVE MONEY!"

"Let's give the money to fix this very real problem!" 🎯

He needs $50 billion for a new FAA air traffic system and Congress should do it NOW.

Put it on the floor this month! pic.twitter.com/kaiT7NrXRx

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 14, 2026

Mullin then addressed questions about whether the outage could have been a cyber attack. “We have seen zero evidence that this was a cyberattack or an AI attack,” he said.

The secretary repeated that there was “no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunication outage as of right now.” When pressed on whether a cyber intrusion or related issue could still be ruled out entirely, Mullin replied that “nothing is completely certain right now. It doesn’t appear that way.”

He noted that investigators, including those from the Department of Homeland Security working with other agencies, had found no signs of intrusion, no related online claims, and no chatter indicating an attack.

Mullin also stated that the disruption was not connected to a separate Microsoft outage the previous day. He emphasized that the public was never in any danger, saying the public “was never at danger through this process. There was never any lives at risk. All your loved ones are safe,” and that “there’s no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for your loved ones. This isn’t another 9/11.”

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🚨 JUST NOW: DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin says NOBODY is claiming credit for a would-be cyber attack on the FAA systems, "there's no chatter" — and there are NO indications that's what happened

DOOCY: Can you say with 100% certainty this was NOT a cyber attack or rogue AI? 👀

DHS… pic.twitter.com/UC783mKbWK

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 14, 2026

Other details from the briefing included that all flights had been accounted for, planes already in the air were managed safely on a case-by-case basis, and international arrivals were prioritized as needed. Officials said the FAA acted out of an abundance of caution after communication issues affected multiple air route traffic control centers.

President Trump had been briefed, and agencies coordinated on the response. Mullin described the event as unprecedented but stressed it was a technical telecommunications problem under investigation rather than a security threat.

The ground stop began Friday afternoon, shortly before 4 p.m. Eastern time, after the FAA ordered all departing flights nationwide to remain on the ground due to the communication outage. It lasted roughly five hours. At 8:15 p.m. Eastern time, Duffy announced that the airspace had been reopened after full functionality was restored at air traffic control centers and related facilities.

Operations began resuming gradually that evening, though Duffy noted it would not mean every flight could depart immediately. Recovery is expected to be slow because of the need to manage aircraft, crews, and schedules that were disrupted during the stop.

Thousands of flights faced delays or cancellations, and residual effects are anticipated through the weekend as airlines work to clear the backlog. Travelers are advised to check directly with their airlines for the latest status on specific flights, as additional delays remain likely while the system returns to normal capacity.

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