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US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has blamed a federal contractor or faulty wiring for the nationwide flight disruption.
US Flight Chaos: Air India Says India-US Flights Operating On Time Amid Nationwide Ground Stop
FAA Ground Stop: Air India has said that its flights to and from the United States are operating as per schedule, with no significant delays, despite a nationwide ground stop that disrupted air traffic across the country on Friday.
The airline said its flights heading to New York, Newark and San Francisco had landed on time early Saturday morning. Departures from all three airports also operated without significant delays.
“All Air India flights are taking off and landing on time without causing any inconvenience to passengers,” Air India officials said, adding that operations had remained largely unaffected despite the disruption to US air traffic.
The update comes as thousands of air travellers across the United States face difficulties making their way home after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide ground stop imposed on Friday.
9,500 Flights Cancelled After Nationwide Ground Stop
The FAA had halted departing flights across the US for around four-and-a-half hours on Friday following an issue with air traffic control systems. The agency cited “extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety” while imposing the restriction.
The ground stop stranded passengers at airports and led to around 9,500 flight cancellations. Nearly one million air travellers were affected by the disruption, according to US Transportation Department Secretary Sean Duffy.
At A Glance
Air India flights to and from the United States operated on schedule without significant delays despite a nationwide ground stop.
The FAA halted departing flights across the US for around four-and-a-half hours on Friday due to an air traffic control system issue.
The disruption led to around 9,500 flight cancellations and affected nearly one million air travellers.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that investigators are probing whether a faulty router or human error by contractor L3 Harris caused the failure.
Although the nationwide restriction has been lifted, widespread travel disruption is expected to continue through the weekend as aviation operations recover.
The disruption has left thousands of passengers trying to find their way home after the hours-long suspension of flights.
Faulty Router Or Human Error? US Probes Cause
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has blamed a federal contractor or faulty wiring for the nationwide disruption. Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, he said workers from L3 Harris were upgrading communication routers at a “remote location” when the system went down.
Duffy said investigators were trying to establish whether the failure was caused by human error, an installation mistake or a faulty router.
“What we’re working to determine was whether we had incompetence – meaning, was it user error or installer error from L3 Harris, or did they install a faulty router? We haven’t determined what the fault was. Was it the router? Or were they not doing great work for us at L3 Harris?” he said.
The investigation is yet to establish the exact reason behind the failure.
Cyberattack Not Believed To Be The Cause
Duffy also addressed concerns over a possible cyberattack behind the widespread disruption.
He said investigators “don’t believe” a cyberattack was responsible for the incident, although he did not completely rule out that possibility.
L3 Harris had not immediately responded to a request for comment on the allegations.
Meanwhile, Air India’s update indicates that its services connecting India with the US have continued operating without significant delays, even as the American aviation sector works to recover from Friday’s nationwide ground stop.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Air India reported that its flights connecting India to and from the United States operated on schedule without significant delays despite the nationwide ground stop. Flights heading to New York, Newark, and San Francisco successfully landed and departed on time.
Ask News18About the Author
Shuddhanta Patra is an Indian journalist with about nine years of experience in covering national politics, geopolitics, defence, diplomacy and international affairs. Her reporting focuses on South As…Read More
Delhi, India, India
November 14, 2026, 11:20 PM IST
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