US air travel disruptions to persist until late on Sunday, FAA head says
XLI•The FAA head said US air travel was not expected to return to normal until late Sunday after more than 14,000 flights were canceled or delayed Saturday. Officials blamed a router installation for overloading communications centers, and the transportation secretary sought $50 billion to upgrade air traffic control systems.
1. Disruptions continue
Airlines canceled more than 6,400 US flights and delayed more than 8,000 on Saturday, following about 9,200 cancellations and 7,500 delays Friday. FlightAware said 875 flights scheduled for Sunday had already been canceled. FAA head Bryan Bedford expected operations to largely return to normal by late Sunday and apologized for the disruption.
2. Router installation blamed
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the issue was traced to an FAA contractor's installation of at least one router at a remote facility. The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union said two routers were updated Friday. The problem overloaded other communications centers; 17 of the FAA's 22 en route centers were affected, but the agency said no facilities went dark.
3. Funding sought
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines each canceled about 25% of their flights Saturday, while JetBlue canceled nearly 45%. Duffy called for $50 billion to upgrade air traffic control systems, up from his earlier request of $30 billion; Congress approved $12.5 billion last year.
