US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated a technical flaw caused the widespread flight cancellations.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday
Photograph: Punch Newspapers (embedded from source)
What this story says
- US air travel disruptions, triggered by a technical flaw in air traffic control communication cables, were expected to continue until Monday.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the issue was not a cyberattack and that a return to full normalcy would take time.
- As of Sunday morning, 1,460 flights within, into, or out of the United States had been cancelled.
- Former President Donald Trump blamed the outdated air traffic control system on his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 12 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 15 of the 27 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
59/100
Hype
41/100
27 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 12 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Widespread disruptions to air travel in the United States were anticipated to persist until Monday. The cause was identified as a technical flaw that occurred during an upgrade of air traffic control communication cables. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on Sunday that while the airspace would see a return to normal operations on Sunday, full normalcy would likely take until Monday due to the need to reposition aircraft and crews. He also ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the outage.
Disagreement on the cause and blame
While officials identified a technical flaw during an upgrade as the cause, former President Donald Trump assigned blame to his predecessor, Joe Biden. Trump stated that he inherited an outdated air traffic control system from the Biden administration and that Congress needed to approve funds for its upgrade. The Punch Newspapers report also noted that Democrats suggested Congress, under Trump's Republican party control, could have already funded such upgrades.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention the specific figure of 1,460 flights cancelled as of Sunday morning, which was reported by The Punch Newspapers. The digests also do not include the specific appeal by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for $50 billion in funds to upgrade the air traffic control system, as detailed in The Punch Newspapers report.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 15 Nov 2026, 19:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- The left-rated report from The Punch Newspapers led with the potential continuation of disruptions until Monday, quoting US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. It detailed the cause as faulty work on communication cables and included former President Donald Trump's statements blaming Joe Biden for an outdated system. The report also mentioned Duffy's rejection of resignation calls and his appeal for $50 billion to modernise the air traffic control system. It noted that Democrats suggested Congress could have already funded such upgrades.
Centre
5 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports from El Diario, wz.de, France24, ANSA, and yle focused on the expected timeline for the return to normal air traffic, with most indicating it would be by Monday. El Diario noted that "routine" work on communication infrastructures linked to air control caused the breakdown. France24 and yle highlighted the scale of cancellations, with France24 stating over 18,000 flights were cancelled between Friday and Saturday, and yle reporting over 900 cancellations on Sunday. ANSA and yle quoted Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stating flights would return to full capacity by Monday.
Right
6 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports from Kurier, Reforma, NDTV, Die Presse, Anadolu Ajansı, and Daily Sabah highlighted that air traffic disruptions would likely continue until Monday. Kurier and Die Presse mentioned technical problems as the cause and ruled out a cyberattack. Anadolu Ajansı noted that Secretary Sean Duffy ruled out a cyberattack and urged Congress to fund a new telecommunications network, exposing 2001-era equipment. Daily Sabah reported that US authorities warned chaos could persist into Monday. NDTV also stated that hundreds more flights were cancelled and questions remained about how such chaos could unfold.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday?
- Of the 12 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 8% are rated left, 42% are rated centre, 50% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 27. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 12 rated outlets on this story, 8% are rated left, 42% are rated centre, 50% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday biased?
- US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday is one event reported by 27 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered US Air Travel Disruptions Expected to Continue Until Monday?
- 27 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What caused the US flight disruptions?
- The disruptions were caused by a technical flaw during an upgrade of air traffic control communication cables. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that this was not a cyberattack.
- When was air traffic expected to return to normal?
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy indicated that while airspace operations might return to normal on Sunday, full normalcy for flights, crews, and travellers was expected by Monday.
- How many flights were cancelled?
- As of Sunday morning, 1,460 flights within, into, or out of the United States had been cancelled, according to flightaware.com.
- Who was blamed for the outdated air traffic control system?
- Former President Donald Trump blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the outdated air traffic control system, stating he inherited a "mess" from the Biden administration.
Read it at the source
27 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
5- Air Damage in the United States Persists Until Monday (opens El Diario in a new tab)
- U.S. Air Traffic Probably only on Monday Again Completely Normal (opens wz.de in a new tab)
- No Return to Normal Before Monday in the American Sky (opens France24 in a new tab)
- Duffy, 'By Monday, Flights Will Return to Full Capacity in the US' (opens ANSA in a new tab)
- US Transportation Secretary: Air Traffic Will Return to Normal on Monday (opens yle in a new tab)
Right
6- U.S. Air Traffic Probably only on Monday Again Completely Normal (opens Kurier in a new tab)
Kurier — is Kurier biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Air Damage in the United States Will Continue Until Monday (opens Reforma in a new tab)
- U.S. Air Traffic Probably only Normalizes Again on Monday (opens Die Presse in a new tab)
Die Presse — is Die Presse biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Administration Says Airline Disruptions May Continue For Another Day (opens NDTV in a new tab)
- US Transport Chief Expects Air Travel to Normalize by Monday After Outage (opens Anadolu Ajansı in a new tab)
Anadolu Ajansı — is Anadolu Ajansı biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US authorities warn air travel chaos may continue for another day (opens Daily Sabah in a new tab)
Daily Sabah — is Daily Sabah biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
15- Air Damage in the United States Will Continue Until Monday (opens elnorte.com in a new tab)
elnorte.com — is elnorte.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Air Damage in the United States Will Continue Until Monday (opens mural.com.mx in a new tab)
mural.com.mx — is mural.com.mx biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US flights should return to normal Monday: Transportation Secretary (opens bhaskarlive.in in a new tab)
bhaskarlive.in — is bhaskarlive.in biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US flights should return to normal Monday: Transportation Secretary (opens Social News XYZ in a new tab)
Social News XYZ — is Social News XYZ biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US Airports: “The Situation Will Be Fully Normalized by Monday” (opens THE BEST in a new tab)
- Over 10,000 Flights Were Delayed! When Will Air Traffic Return to Normal in the US? (opens Akşam in a new tab)
- Duffy, 'by Monday, Flights Will Return to Full Capacity in the US' 'At the Moment There Are some Delays in Airspace' (opens Agenzia giornalistica Opinione in a new tab)
- U.S. Air Traffic Probably only on Monday Again Completely Normal (opens suedtirolnews.it in a new tab)
suedtirolnews.it — is suedtirolnews.it biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Show 7 more
- US Air Traffic: Normalization Expected Only on Monday (opens vienna.at in a new tab)
- The Expected Date for the Return to Normal Air Traffic in the US Has Been Announced. (opens elipshaber.com in a new tab)
elipshaber.com — is elipshaber.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Air Traffic in the US Is Expected to Return to Normal on Monday (opens VG in a new tab)
- – Air Traffic in the US Is Expected to Return to Normal on Monday (opens Nettavisen in a new tab)
Nettavisen — is Nettavisen biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Duffy on US Air Travel: Situation Will Be Fully Normalized by Monday (opens Naftemporiki in a new tab)
Naftemporiki — is Naftemporiki biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- USA Warns that Problems in Air Transport Should Continue Until Monday (opens Jovem Pan News in a new tab)
Jovem Pan News — is Jovem Pan News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Airfalls in the United States: More than 19,500 Flights Cancelled and Affected Would Continue Until Monday (opens El Economista in a new tab)
El Economista — is El Economista biased? Our profile of this outlet
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