Expect more flight cancellations, says US transport chief

Washington – United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sought to assure Americans on Nov 14 that it remains “safe to fly” after an hours-long ground stop. However, he warned of more flight cancellations as airlines grapple with thousands of stranded passengers.More than 20,000 flights were impacted by the rare nationwide flight stoppage on Nov 13. The effects were rippling across the industry, with more than 3,800 US flights already cancelled on Nov 14 and another 2,100 delayed, according to tracking website FlightAware.“Operations are slowly returning to normal this morning. Planes are pushing back, taxiing and taking off, and it is safe to fly,” Duffy said on X.“You will continue to see some delays and cancellations as carriers reschedule flights and reposition aircraft/crews where they are needed most.”Duffy, an appointee of US President Donald Trump, thanked air traffic controllers, pilots and flight crews for their dedication and hard work during the crisis. The Transportation Secretary added that “our top priority right now is making sure travellers get home safely to their families as quickly as possible”.The ground stop not only plunged US air travel into chaos, it has raised serious concerns about the country’s ageing infrastructure and how it could be particularly susceptible to cyberattacks.Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Nov 13 dismissed speculation about a coordinated cyber-assault on the US, or any link to the Microsoft outage that affected services worldwide.But as US lawmakers and others on Nov 14 called for investigations into what caused the massive disruption and whether the country is adequately secure from cybercriminality, the government urged patience from travellers.“We appreciate your continued patience as operations return to normal,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.As of mid-morning on Nov 14, Trump, often quick to comment on social media on issues of such magnitude, has made no public statement about the ground stop. AFP