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Tech News
US carriers canceled roughly 4,000 additional flights, adding to ongoing disruptions across the air travel system. The FAA has publicly denied that a newly deployed AI system contributed to the cancellations, countering speculation linking the technology to the delays.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday, halting departures across the U.S. and Canada, citing 'extraordinary circumstances' and safety concerns. Reports attribute the disruption to an outage affecting the air traffic control system, though the FAA has not specified an end time for the stoppage.
United Airlines announced it will block AI agents and autonomous assistants from booking flights or managing reservations using customer credentials. The airline said it is updating its booking, ticketing and distribution policies to prevent access via its digital platforms as well as through travel agencies and aggregators.
The FAA announced it will roll out the Enterprise Information Display System, retiring floppy-disk-based tools used since the 1980s across more than 400 air traffic control facilities. The new system is meant to speed delivery of weather alerts (PIREPs) and Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) to controllers, replacing manual paper-strip processes. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the upgrade lets controllers instantly share flight alerts and airspace restrictions.
Archer Aviation announced plans to build an air taxi network connecting Houston, Dallas, and Austin, including links to area airports. The company cited a favorable regulatory environment and support from local officials as reasons for choosing Texas.
The Trump administration's newly appointed artificial-intelligence lead outlined priorities and disclosed the membership of a White House task force overseeing AI policy. Separately, community banks pushed back against federal regulators over proposed crypto charters, and reporting on a near-miss aboard flight 1073 highlighted security gaps at a Dubai airport.
South Africa's air traffic control systems were targeted in a cyberattack in which a ransomware toolkit was installed on at least one operational network. The country's aviation authorities are now seeking outside assistance to respond to the breach.
Private banks, fashion houses, hospitality firms and aviation companies are increasingly expanding into overlapping lifestyle services—travel, healthcare, residences and private clubs—rather than staying within their original categories. An Entrepreneur contributor argues this reflects wealthy consumers valuing trusted advisors who can curate options and save time, rather than simply having more products to buy.
Todd Sheridan Yeary, a 13-year air traffic control veteran, publicly criticized the FAA's planned AI system SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories), saying its intended use—predictive versus prescriptive—remains unclear even to aviation professionals. He said his top concern is that the AI could 'hallucinate' inaccurate data, and insisted any deployment must allow human controllers to override its outputs.
Joby Aviation flew a modified Cessna Caravan autonomously across the United States, covering 3,199 miles from Concord, California, with stops in Fort Worth and South Carolina. The onboard system independently handled taxiing, takeoff, landing, weather diversions and route changes, while a safety pilot on board did not intervene. Joby says it's the first fully autonomous cross-country airplane flight, and the trip ended with a symbolic pass near the Wright brothers' first flight site in Kitty Hawk.
An autonomous aircraft flew 3,199 miles across the United States without any manual control inputs from the onboard safety pilot. The flight is being described as the first successful transcontinental journey completed entirely by an aircraft's automated systems.
Joby Aviation says it completed the first fully autonomous cross-country flight in the US, sending a modified Cessna Caravan 3,199 miles from California's Buchanan Field Airport to Dare County Regional Airport in North Carolina without pilot control inputs. The aircraft handled taxiing, takeoff, cruising and landing on its own, while a human monitor rode along and Joby staff supervised remotely from California and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. The plane will now fly back west with stops in Raleigh, Salt Lake City and Portland.