Hochul calls for Transportation Secretary Duffy's resignation, firing after FAA ground stop
FULL: What caused nationwide FAA ground stop? Transportation officials give update
The morning after a nationwide FAA ground stop, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and other officials give an update on what caused the technical issues, and the state of air travel on Saturday.
NEW YORK - Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling for the removal of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop for hours Friday night — just the second such ground stop since Sept. 11, 2001.
What is a 'ground stop'?: Explanation
FOX 5 NY’s Antwan Lewis breaks down what exactly a "ground stop" is in the midst of a nationwide ground stop issued by the FAA.
FAA ground stop halts thousands of flights
The backstory:
The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday evening, bringing cross-country travel to a standstill for more than four hours.
Officials said that flights were grounded because of communication and radar disruptions.
More than 16,000 flights were either canceled or delayed on Friday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks airline disruptions. Nearly 3,000 more flights were impacted as of Saturday morning.
At a press conference Saturday, Duffy said that they believe the disruptions were tied to system upgrades being installed Friday, causing an overload of the communications network.
RELATED: Staffing shortages at air traffic control towers cause massive delays across U.S.
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FAA ground stop aftermath cancels thousands of Saturday flights: What to know
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday that air traffic operations had fully resumed after a telecommunications failure triggered Friday’s ground stop.
Air travel issues continue
Dig deeper:
Friday's outage is the latest in a string of major delays and outages tied to what Duffy says is aging aviation infrastructure. In September, flights were halted across the northeastern U.S. after FAA officials said a construction crew accidentally severed a fiber optic line in New Jersey.
In recent years, the FAA has cited a shortage of air traffic controllers at several major towers across the country, leading to major delays. Earlier this month, the FAA said it's looking to phase out floppy disks by 2028. Sony discontinued manufacturing floppy disks 15 years ago.
Friday's communication issue, Duffy said, was a byproduct of the nation's aging aviation infrastructure, and renewed calls for increased funding for upgrades.
SUGGESTED: Trump administration seeks $30 billion to upgrade airports, air traffic control
Hochul calls for Duffy's removal
What they're saying:
Hochul pointed to Friday's ground stop as the latest in a line of major issues with the nation's aviation system under Duffy.
"From chronic air traffic controller shortages to repeated communications breakdowns, serious lapses in our aviation system have become a pattern on Sean Duffy's watch," Hochul said. "Through it all, he's been more focused on starring in his own reality show than addressing the crisis in his agency."
Hochul ended her statement by calling for a congressional investigation and saying that "Sean Duffy must resign, or President Trump must remove him immediately."
Flights resume Saturday
What's next:
Duffy said Saturday that air traffic operations had fully reopened, but that it could take several days for the system to fully recover from the effects of so many delays and cancellations.
The Source: Information in this story is from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's statement calling for the removal of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a FAA/DOT press conference detailing the outage that caused Friday night's ground stoppage and previous FOX 5 NY reports on recent ground stops and air traffic controller shortages.