The US Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to ground all flights on Friday threw airports and travel plans into chaos across the country, as passengers on planes and in airport terminals were suddenly thrust into limbo.
At New York’s John F Kennedy airport, passengers found their travel plans abruptly cancelled – some even after they’d boarded.
Steve Honberger, heading home to Portland, Oregon, with his wife and daughter, said he’d been on a plane about to take off when the shutdown was announced.
“They didn’t seem to know what’s happening, and they wanted to hold off as long as possible,” Honberger said. The plane sat at the gate for an hour and 40 minutes.
They realized they were just going to be sitting at the gate, so they eventually asked to deplane and rebook.
Many still thought it worth showing up despite the uncertainty of when flights would resume. Rashid Kahn, heading for Miami, said he’d “heard about the ground stop on the news, but the airline said we might take off 10 or 11pm”.
“I am hopeful” he added. “But maybe it’s something to do with the date. I’m not super serious, but it’s Friday the 13th.”
A flight attendant headed for Barcelona, who declined to give his name, said he had been told his American Airlines flight would be slightly delayed and all incoming international flights were being allowed to land.
Another crew member from the flight said cheerfully: “Things happen. Hopefully it will all be resolved.”
The FAA issued the nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon, citing a communications problems at regional air traffic control centers, according to an FAA notice.
The ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety”, the FAA said. The US secretary of homeland security, Markwayne Mullin, sought to reassure the public there was no indication yet of any “nefarious attack”.
“It’s just a telecommunications outage,” Mullin said on Friday.
The outage has nonetheless caused upheaval for thousands of passengers. There have been 10,343 flight delays within, into or out of the US so far, according to the website FlightAware, and 1,479 cancellations. More than 1,000 aircraft were bound for US when the ground stop was announced, according to Flightradar24.
Only two national ground stops have previously been issued: on 11 September 2001, after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center; and in January 2023, after a communications failure.
At Ronald Reagan Washington national airport, hundreds of people waited for news in a packed terminal. Gate agents, along with most travelers in the terminal, refreshed their phones looking for updates, and attempted to change their flights. Nearly every seat was filled, with some people sitting on the floor and using their luggage as makeshift desks for their laptops.
The ground stop has also snarled the sports world, leaving NBA, NHL and college teams stranded as they tried to reach their destinations before a big weekend of games. It also was unclear whether referees, who typically fly to their assignments the day before games, would make it on time.
Back at JFK, travelers expressed frustration and resignation.
“My flight to California was cancelled with no information and no rebooking. My flight was cancelled last night as well due to bad weather. Now I’m missing a family event,” said a man who gave his name only as Andy. “It’s frustrating. And I’m pissed.”
Honberger, meanwhile, tried to stay optimistic, saying: “There are people sitting on tarmac, so we count ourselves lucky and we were able to book ourselves a hotel for the night.”
Tom Johnson and agencies contributed reporting
