US nationwide flight ground stop ends, but delays could last for days: Here's what passengers need to know
The FAA ended a nationwide ground stop Friday evening, allowing some domestic flights to resume.
The nationwide flight ground stop officially concluded at approximately 8:15 pm Eastern time, with some domestic flights now taking off from US airports. However, restoring regular air traffic following the most significant disruption in 25 years will be a gradual process, authorities have cautioned.
Officials anticipate the system to be back to normal in time to manage the anticipated Thanksgiving travel surge. Here's what you should be aware of:
Departures are now underway, but disruptions persist. The Federal Aviation Administration announced that airplane departures may resume late on Friday evening Eastern time. Passengers are advised to reach out to their airlines for updates regarding their individual flights, per the FAA's guidance.
The effects of the stoppage may linger for several days. Over 2,500 flights were canceled in the US on Saturday, coupled with hundreds of additional delays, according to FlightAware, a platform tracking flight disruptions.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cautioned Americans traveling that restoring air traffic to normal won't be swift. International flights are being addressed individually, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
San Francisco International Airport reported that flights bound for the Pacific Ocean were cleared to depart on Friday evening. This included journeys to Hawaii and Asia. Europe's aviation agency temporarily halted US-bound departures at the FAA's request, from 5 pm Eastern on Friday until midnight.
Airlines are required to provide complimentary rebooking on alternative flights for passengers seeking to continue their journeys, or a refund if their flight was canceled and they choose not to fly. The reason behind the grounding was revealed to be technological: new equipment connecting to the nation's air traffic control system overloaded outdated apparatus, Trump administration officials disclosed.
This caused intermittent communications and radar gaps, leading to the shutdown of the air traffic control system for over four hours, according to officials. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy admitted they hadn't anticipated such a significant outage.
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