‘One more extra day away from the kids’: Stranded travellers react to the Friday the 13th chaos at US airports
A communications outage prompted a rare grounding of all US flights, stranding hundreds of thousands of travellers amid confusion and uncertainty.
Chaos reigned at US airports on Friday as a rare grounding of all flights stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers. In New York's busy LaGuardia airport, 61-year-old Janice Llewellyn was on the verge of tears, fearing she would miss her daughter's wedding in Toronto. The confusion was attributed to a telecommunications outage affecting air traffic control communications, though the exact cause was still under investigation.
Passengers faced delays, cancellations, and diversions, with many stranded and unsure when they could travel. Some risked missing important events like weddings and concerts. While flights already in the air continued to their destinations, authorities coordinated their safe landings. Passengers sought alternative flights or considered driving, while one traveler booked a new flight for Saturday morning.
The ground stop halted departing flights, and some passengers formed long lines at rental car counters, hoping to find travel alternatives. The shambolic lack of information led to frustration among travelers, despite government officials insisting the grounding was not due to a deliberate attack. The disruption came less than two weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, the busiest travel moment of the year, and ahead of a busy weekend for professional and college sports.
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