DHS chief sees no link between Microsoft outage and FAA ground stop, doesn’t rule out AI

What happened

The nationwide ground stop that halted U.S. departures Friday afternoon has no apparent connection to the Microsoft 365 outage that began a day earlier, but a link to the FAA’s new AI traffic-planning tool can’t be ruled out yet, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters at a news conference. Microsoft is a software and software development company based in Redmond.

DHS chief sees no link between Microsoft outage and FAA ground stop, doesn’t rule out AI by Todd Bishop on Nov 13, 2026 at 3:04 pm November 13, 2026 at 3:27 pm Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Email The nationwide ground stop that halted U.S. Mullin described the problem as a telecommunications outage affecting the FAA’s air traffic control centers, though he said the cause isn’t yet known.

The FAA said Tuesday it was expanding its AI system, known as SMART, to the airspace managed by all 22 of its en route air traffic control centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday’s communications problem affected all of those centers, though Mullin said two areas in the U.S.

The agency describes SMART as a cloud-based system that pulls in about 200 data streams, including weather, flight paths and controller staffing, to recommend flight schedules and routes. FAA specialists review its recommendations, and local facilities decide whether to act on them.

SMART is part of a 12-year, $875 million FAA contract with Boston-based Air Space Intelligence that also covers a broader traffic flow management platform. Lawmakers asked the FAA in October to pause use of the tool in the Washington area.

Air Space Intelligence denied any connection in a post on X. He said officials had seen no indication of a malicious attack.