'I may lose my mind': Frustrated travellers stuck in US flight havoc
A rare nationwide ground stop left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded across the United States, with conflicting information about delays adding to the confusion as travellers scrambled to salvage their plans.
On Friday, November 13, a rare nationwide ground stop left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded across the United States. The confusion at airports was compounded by conflicting information about delays, as travellers scrambled to salvage their plans. In New York's LaGuardia airport, Janice Llewellyn, 61, was on the verge of tears, fearing she would miss her daughter's wedding in Toronto.
She expressed her desperation, saying, "I may lose my mind." Her husband had flown all the way from England for the wedding. At Las Vegas airport, some fliers were told their journeys were delayed due to wind, with one airline staffer estimating the ground stop would last eight hours, while another said 24 hours. Government officials attributed the grounding to a major communications outage, not a nefarious attack, but this information did little to alleviate the passengers' anxiety.
The lack of clear communication led many to form long lines at rental car counters, desperately seeking alternative travel options. Joseph Anderson, a 72-year-old retired Air Force veteran, was considering driving back to Oakland, but warned that if the entire country was stopped, the highways would also be jammed. He expressed frustration with the FAA's communication, stating, "I would hope the communication can be better from the FAA."
The ground stop, eventually lifted after more than four hours, occurred less than two weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, a peak travel period in the United States. It also fell ahead of a busy weekend for professional and college sports, with teams and their fans also stranded. In New York, Tiara Johnson, 50, was heading to Orlando for a weekend concert, her hopes of making it diminishing.
"You think you're going to be there in three hours, but your whole evening is kind of done!" she told AFP. Many harried passengers were staring at their phones, calm but annoyed, wandering the airport terminal without clear direction. Johnson booked a new flight for the following Saturday, meaning her work trip would be extended. "I'll get there," she laughed, "One more extra day away from the kids!"
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