Trump says Biden worsened aging systems

Promises 'best system in the world' if Congress funds it

Critics note incident came 2 years into Trump's own term

Democrats say aviation safety should come before vanity projects

Travelers who arrived late due to a nationwide aviation shutdown pass through security at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Sunday (local time). The ground stop was triggered by an error during an upgrade of air traffic control communications cables. [AFP]
Travelers who arrived late due to a nationwide aviation shutdown pass through security at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Sunday (local time). The ground stop was triggered by an error during an upgrade of air traffic control communications cables. [AFP]

Two days after a nationwide aviation shutdown paralyzed air travel across the United States, Donald Trump addressed the crisis for the first time on Sunday (local time), using his social media platform to blame the disruption on his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Trump said on Truth Social that "the Biden administration was a disaster for the FAA — everything they touched went wrong," adding that it "spent a fortune foolishly" and left aging, broken systems in worse shape than when it took office.

Trump squarely placed responsibility for the aviation chaos on the Biden administration.

The shutdown began after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop at 3:53 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, halting departures at airports across the country following a failure in the air traffic control communications system.

The measure brought US air travel to a standstill, with flight cancellations and delays continuing into the following day. Although the ground stop lasted roughly four and a half hours, its ripple effects exceeded expectations, disrupting more than 3,000 flights through delays or cancellations.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference Sunday that the ground stop was triggered during a cable replacement operation on the control network carried out by FAA contractor L3 Harris. At a briefing on the day of the incident, Duffy had called on Congress to approve $50 billion in additional funding for a full overhaul of the aging air traffic control network cables.

Trump said the administration has "the knowledge and the plan" for upgrading the air traffic control system and needs Congress to move quickly on funding. In a separate post, he said that if Congress approves the urgently needed funds, "we can build it fast and efficiently — it will be the best system anywhere in the world."

"Most of the current air traffic control system is 50 years old, and that's ridiculous. We've already started work, but it has to be done all at once, not piecemeal," Trump added. "Congress must approve this. The Biden administration set this back years."

Trump's effort to pin the blame on Biden has drawn skepticism, however, given that the incident occurred more than two years into Trump's own second term.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who leads her party's side on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's aviation subcommittee, said on X that the administration has "literally controlled Congress for the past two years" and that "there always seems to be money for vanity projects." She said Trump "should prioritize aviation safety over that ridiculous triumphal arch."

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kate01@heraldcorp.com