Denver Air Traffic Control Briefly Loses Communication, Raising National Aviation Concerns

A 90-second communication outage at Denver’s Air Route Traffic Control Center earlier this week is the latest warning sign of the aging U.S. air traffic infrastructure, according to FAA officials.

The incident occurred around 1:50 p.m. local time on May 12, when transmitters covering a portion of airspace went offline, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed. While the primary and backup frequencies failed temporarily, air traffic controllers quickly switched to an alternate frequency to direct pilots and maintain safety.

The FAA emphasized that aircraft remained safely separated during the outage and that no operational delays occurred. “There were no impacts to operations,” the agency said, adding that an internal investigation is underway.

Franklin McIntosh, the FAA’s Deputy Administrator for Air Traffic Control, discussed the outage during a congressional hearing on May 15, noting that the controllers "followed safety protocols precisely." He confirmed that a controller was able to re-establish communication quickly, avoiding any risk to aircraft in the affected airspace.

Denver’s air traffic center oversees roughly 285,000 square miles, covering sections of nine states including Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. The sheer size of this region underscores the importance of reliable communication systems.