Secretary Mullin and Secretary Duffy Brief Members of the Press on the FAA Ground Stop

A nationwide air traffic control failure caused by overloaded legacy 1980s hardware forced the FAA to ground over 3,500 aircraft from 3:36 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time, though all flights landed safely without casualties. President Trump, citing the incident as a critical national security risk caused by aging infrastructure, has declared a national emergency to secure $50 billion in congressional funding for a complete system overhaul. While investigators have ruled out cyber attacks, the event has accelerated calls for modernization as the agency manages a gradual return to full operational capacity for the upcoming Thanksgiving travel period.