'This Isn’t the Same Comparison to 9/11': US Homeland Security Secy Rules Out Threat Behind Nationwide Ground Stop

Washington DC, US: US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday (local time) said that there is no indication that a national security threat was behind the nationwide ground stop imposed across American airports following a telecommunications outage, seeking to distinguish the disruption from the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"This isn’t the same comparison to 9/11," Mullin told reporters outside the White House, while assuring them that all flights had been accounted for and passengers were safe.

Mullin said authorities currently had no reason to believe the communications failure was linked to a threat against the United States, although he did not rule out any possible cause, including a cyberattack.

"There is no indication that we’ve had, no reason to believe, that as of right now this was a threat to the United States," he said, later reiterating that there was "no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack against us."

"This was a telecommunication outage," Mullin asserted.

The Homeland Security Secretary also confirmed that US President Donald Trump had been briefed about the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) nationwide ground stop and had spoken with US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Mullin said Trump had taken an active role in responding to the situation and had provided the necessary resources and communication support.

"He was on the phone earlier with the president and several of us. And they’re doing a phenomenal job in a crisis mode," Mullin said, referring to the coordination with officials.

He added that Trump "took a lead in this immediately" to ensure the situation was managed.

Mullin further clarified that the massive Microsoft outage reported a day earlier was unrelated to the telecommunications problem affecting the FAA.

"I don’t see any reason to connect those two at all," he told reporters, adding, "Those are separate issues."

The FAA had issued a nationwide ground stop across all US airports earlier in the day after a temporary telecommunications outage affected all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, disrupting flight operations across the country.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the development in a post on X, stating that the communication issue had affected air traffic control centres nationwide and that FAA technicians were investigating the problem.

"The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them," Duffy said.
The FAA also confirmed that flights had been halted as a precautionary measure, with international arrivals being handled individually.

"There has been a temporary telecommunications outage - out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis," the agency said in a post on X.

According to flight-tracking platform FlightAware, approximately 7,000 flights were either delayed or cancelled following the ground stop.

The communication disruption reportedly affected all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States, which are responsible for guiding aircraft within their respective regions, particularly incoming flights.

Meanwhile, Flightradar24 data showed that around 4,042 flights were airborne and heading towards US airports when the ground stop order was issued.

However, the precise cause of the telecommunications outage remained unclear. An airline source told CNN that the FAA was still investigating the disruption and had not established what had happened.

The FAA "doesn't know yet what is going on; it is affecting different facilities in different ways," the source told CNN, adding that a crisis call had taken place without a clear explanation for the cause.

Mullin said authorities were continuing to assess the situation, while reiterating that all flights had been accounted for and that passenger safety remained ensured.