Chaos in US skies, over 16,000 flights canceled in two days

Key points THE LOWDOWN 19:07 Federal Aviation, more than 16,000 flights canceled between yesterday and today 18:42 Stephen King jokes: 'The aliens have arrived, that's why flights are in chaos' 17:17 Duffy thanks controllers and passengers, full operations restored 16:48 Chaos in US skies, more than 4,000 flights canceled and 2,500 delayed 15:09 Duffy: 'Flights gradually returning to normal, but delays continue' 14:38 Chaos continues in US skies, over 3,300 flights scrapped today 12:03 US shutdown, 3 out of 10 scheduled flights canceled at Malpensa 09:45 CNN, 'over 15,000 flights canceled, another 3,000 today canceled or delayed' 09:01 Flight shutdown in US, connections from Fiumicino to the States operational 04:15 Duffy, 'I can't say whether the same scenario of telecom problems will occur' 03:11 Mullin: 'No indication of telecom problems related to a cyberattack' 02:54 Duffy asks Congress for 50 billion. 'Flight shutdown due to obsolete telecom infrastructure' 02:40 NYT: 'Nationwide flight shutdown in US lifted' 02:15 Media: 'Trump believes flight shutdown due to obsolete infrastructure' 02:09 Flights halted, chaos at airports - THE IMAGES 01:48 FAA asks Eurocontrol to suspend flights from 42 countries 01:33 01:17 CNN: 'Still 700 aircraft in US skies, more than 3,000 flights canceled' 01:01 US air transport authority maintains nationwide flight shutdown 00:58 Eurocontrol: 'All air traffic bound for the US suspended' 00:26 UK: 'Our airspace was not affected by the US flight shutdown' 23:44 FBI: 'US flight shutdown not due to cyberattack or crime' 23:38 Microsoft: 'No indication US flight shutdown linked to Outlook outages' 23:27 Mullin: 'Trump constantly updated on flight shutdown' 23:18 In the US, problems also at the National Weather Service 01:26 'US flight shutdown due to temporary telecom systems stop. It's not a new 9/11' THE LOWDOWN More than 15,000 flights were canceled in the US due to the air traffic shutdown that began yesterday, leaving thousands of passengers grounded. As the situation slowly returns to normal, the blame falls on control systems deemed obsolete. US Transportation Secretary Duffy points the finger at 'switches and routers clogged with data' and asks Congress for 50 billion to upgrade the infrastructure. Repercussions also at European airports, with three flights scrapped at Malpensa. Microsoft is back up and running after the mega-crash that affected 430 million customers in 70 countries: potential compensation could cost the company up to 400 million dollars. 19:07 Federal Aviation, more than 16,000 flights canceled between yesterday and today More than 16,000 flights were canceled between yesterday and today in the United States due to the shutdown decided Friday afternoon following equipment malfunctions. So said Bryan Bedford, head of the Federal Aviation Administration. 18:42 Stephen King jokes: 'The aliens have arrived, that's why flights are in chaos' "The aliens have landed. That's the real reason for the ground stop. They don't want to start a worldwide panic. They are blind but can hear just fine," Stephen King wrote, joking on X. The director and writer attributed the flight shutdown in the United States to an alien landing. The quip generated millions of views and social media reactions were quick to follow: users were divided between those who fueled the joke and those, still stuck at the airport, who complained, accusing the writer of exaggerating and of "needing treatment." The aliens have landed. That’s the REAL reason for the ground stop. They don’t want to start a worldwide panic. They are blind but can hear like a motherfucker. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 13, 2026 17:17 Duffy thanks controllers and passengers, full operations restored "I want to thank the controllers, the crews, the airport authorities and the passengers, who have been patient." So said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, stressing that the system has "returned to full operations" after yesterday's air traffic shutdown. The problems began when a contractor was carrying out routine maintenance work at a remote facility, as part of an operation to replace copper cables with fiber optic cables, Duffy said, noting that the contractor handling the system upgrade is L3Harris. "We are trying to figure out whether it was incompetence or whether a faulty router was installed," he added. "We have not yet determined the cause of the failure," he pointed out. "We do not believe" it was a cyberattack that caused the flight chaos. "The problem arose when L3Harris switched the line from the old copper" and "we need to determine whether the cause was a faulty router or incompetence" in carrying out the work. Donald Trump has pledged to provide all necessary resources to the Federal Aviation Administration. Duffy has urged Congress to step in and allocate funds. "This is a bipartisan moment" in which Congress "should send a signal." 16:48 Chaos in US skies, more than 4,000 flights canceled and 2,500 delayed More than 4,000 flights canceled and 2,580 delayed today, according to CNN. The consequences of the four-hour shutdown of American air transport continue to be felt on the system which, though gradually recovering, is still suffering the effects of Friday's chaos. 15:09 Duffy: 'Flights gradually returning to normal, but delays continue' Flights are gradually returning to normal and there is close coordination with the airlines to facilitate the resumption of operations. So said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on X, stressing, however, that delays and cancellations will continue as flights need to be rescheduled. 14:38 Chaos continues in US skies, over 3,300 flights scrapped today Chaos in air transport continues in the United States, the day after the extraordinary decision by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the air transport oversight authority, to halt flights for about four hours shortly before 4 pm (10 pm in Italy), due to exceptional circumstances and safety reasons related to communications. The airlines, according to the media, canceled more than 9,000 flights on Friday and, so far, have scrapped over 3,300 for the entire day from, to or within the US. Hundreds of flights were forced to turn back or be diverted after airports went haywire due to the excessive number of aircraft on the ground, for which there was no longer any parking space. This morning there were already more than 800 delays, after Friday's nearly 7,000, the Wall Street Journal reported. Tens of thousands of passengers, meanwhile, are facing a weekend of uncertainty at airports across the country. Some domestic flights in the United States are resuming, but the airlines must now manage a complex situation to clear the backlog. For example, at 6:15, Delta Air Lines had canceled 19% of its flights, United Airlines 16% and American Airlines 14% of the connections scheduled for today. The Trump administration has pointed the finger at now-obsolete air traffic control technologies and overloaded routers, referring to some FAA updates on dated systems, while ruling out a threat to the US or the consequences of the serious Microsoft outage recorded this week, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has urged Congress to allocate 50 billion for upgrading the network, noting that the return to normal "will take time." 12:03 US shutdown, 3 out of 10 scheduled flights canceled at Malpensa Operations at Malpensa airport with the United States are guaranteed despite the 'ground stop' that yesterday affected all American airports. There are a total of ten connections between Malpensa and the United States scheduled for today, between arrivals and departures, three of which were canceled by the airlines. The first two expected this morning will land regularly at around 11:30 at the Milan airport, both coming from New York, respectively from JFK and Newark. 09:45 CNN, 'over 15,000 flights canceled, another 3,000 today canceled or delayed' On Friday, more than 15,000 flights in the United States experienced delays or cancellations, and about 3,000 flights are expected to experience delays or cancellations today. So writes CNN. 09:01 Flight shutdown in US, connections from Fiumicino to the States operational At Fiumicino airport, flights departing for the United States are regularly operational after the lifting of the flight shutdown in the US by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the air traffic control authority. At the moment, in the morning, according to what can be seen on the airport monitors, some connections are experiencing inevitable delays in light of last night's US flight shutdown: this is the case of those bound for Chicago (United) with over two hours, Atlanta (Delta) an hour and a half, Detroit (Delta) thirty minutes and two for New York (Delta), respectively just under 2 hours and thirty minutes. On the arrivals front, a flight from Dallas (American Airlines) was canceled in the morning, while other flights, from New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit are arriving with delays ranging between thirty minutes and two hours. Heavier delays for other arriving flights, expected in the afternoon, from Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, ranging between three and four hours. 04:15 Duffy, 'I can't say whether the same scenario of telecom problems will occur' "Will exactly the same thing happen again? I don't know, I can't say whether exactly this scenario will occur." So said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, during the briefing on the nationwide flight shutdown due to communications-related safety problems. The new technological upgrades overloaded the Federal Aviation Administration's pre-existing control system, now obsolete, putting the equipment in use into crisis. "It will keep breaking down," Duffy said, referring to the technology the FAA was trying to upgrade and modernize. 03:11 Mullin: 'No indication of telecom problems related to a cyberattack' On the nationwide flight shutdown, "there is no indication that the collapse" of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) telecom system is "related to a cyberattack." Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, in a briefing at the White House, said that "we acted out of an abundance of caution." Moreover, "there is no connection between this" and the Microsoft problems," Mullin added. 02:54 Duffy asks Congress for 50 billion. 'Flight shutdown due to obsolete telecom infrastructure' US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed "switches and routers truly clogged with data" as the reason for the telecom problems that led to the nationwide flight shutdown in the US. Duffy, in a briefing at the White House, cited "tens of thousands of stranded passengers," asking Congress for 50 billion to improve the related infrastructure. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed online speculation about the interruption of flight operations, insisting that the public was never in danger. "No life was ever at risk. There were no flights at risk." 02:40 NYT: 'Nationwide flight shutdown in US lifted' The nationwide flight shutdown in the US has been lifted. So reports the New York Times, citing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the air traffic control authority. US air traffic controllers, moreover, "have just been informed of the lifting of the shutdown," according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. 02:15 Media: 'Trump believes flight shutdown due to obsolete infrastructure' US President Donald Trump reported that the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) systems, with the flight shutdown, does not appear to be attributable to a cyberattack ("no trace of one emerged after checks") or to AI, but to obsolete and malfunctioning infrastructure. So reports Fox News, adding that no one has claimed responsibility for the event, which usually happens in the case of a "large-scale attack against critical infrastructure." Trump explained that part of the FAA's equipment is 55 years old and has never been replaced, despite discussions on the matter with Congress. 02:09 Flights halted, chaos at airports - THE IMAGES 01:48 FAA asks Eurocontrol to suspend flights from 42 countries The American FAA has asked Eurocontrol, its European counterpart, to suspend all flights to the United States from 42 countries. So reports the New York Times. Founded in 1960, Eurocontrol is headquartered in Brussels and counts among its members countries that are not part of the European Union, such as Ukraine, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. 01:17 CNN: 'Still 700 aircraft in US skies, more than 3,000 flights canceled' There are still 700 aircraft in flight in US skies, while more than 3,000 flights have so far been canceled. These are the latest figures released by CNN on the total flight shutdown decided about two hours ago by the air transport authority, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for safety reasons after problems detected in telecommunications. "The situation is still far from a return to normal due to uncertainty about the causes of the problems," CNN reported. 01:01 US air transport authority maintains nationwide flight shutdown The nationwide flight shutdown in the United States remains in effect, in accordance with the guidance of the air transport authority, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to CNN, aircraft across the US are still barred from taking off, while federal aviation authorities continue to manage an outage that is affecting flight operations across the country, involving 10,000 flights globally. Two hours after the start of the drastic measure, "due to extraordinary circumstances" related to telecom problems, departures remain limited: any exceptions are allowed only through direct coordination with the FAA's command center in Virginia. The need for centralized authorization for every single takeoff allows the FAA to maintain stricter control over aircraft movements while work continues to resolve the communications problems: prolonged restrictions could cause significant delays across the entire network of domestic and international flights. 00:58 Eurocontrol: 'All air traffic bound for the US suspended' According to the Eurocontrol website, the European organization for air navigation safety, all air traffic bound for the United States from Eurocontrol member states has been suspended "at the FAA's request due to technical problems." So reports BBC online. There are 42 Eurocontrol member states, including dozens of EU countries, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Turkey, as well as two states adhering to the agreement: Israel and Morocco. 00:26 UK: 'Our airspace was not affected by the US flight shutdown' The British Department for Transport states that UK airspace is not affected by the disruptions in the United States, as the two countries use different air traffic control systems. So writes Sky News UK. The department advises passengers traveling to the United States to contact their airline before going to the airport. 23:44 FBI: 'US flight shutdown not due to cyberattack or crime' The communications problem that caused disruptions to air traffic control in the US, with the related exceptional shutdown, "is not due to a cyberattack or a crime." So reports the FBI, according to US media accounts. 23:38 Microsoft: 'No indication US flight shutdown linked to Outlook outages' Microsoft reported that it has "no indication that the flight shutdown" ordered by the FAA in the US is related to the "global outage" of Outlook. The Redmond group is still working to restore its services. 23:27 Mullin: 'Trump constantly updated on flight shutdown' US President Donald Trump "is being constantly updated" on the evolution of the flight shutdown decided by the FAA in the United States "due to extraordinary circumstances." So said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. 23:18 In the US, problems also at the National Weather Service The National Weather Service also experienced internet and communications problems today. The weather service itself announced it on its website. "You may not be able to access our data," reads the message to users, which states that "technicians are working to resolve the problem." 01:26 'US flight shutdown due to temporary telecom systems stop. It's not a new 9/11' The temporary interruption of telecommunications systems led to the precautionary shutdown of all flights in the US. So said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, adding that "nothing can be ruled out," while stressing that for now the cyberattack hypothesis is ruled out. However, he added, "there is no danger. This is not a new September 11." At the moment, according to air transport monitoring sites, there are 3,100 aircraft in flight bound for US airports, in the context of a nationwide flight shutdown. No other aircraft is taking off at this time.