It was a day filled with chaos and tension as travelers faced over 1,000 delayed flights resulting from the Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide groundstop.
Passengers found themselves stranded at airports, uncertain about the duration of the delays and when their canceled flights would be rescheduled.
Zack Richeimer, 29, found himself stuck at Terminal 6 of Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, “running around like a chicken with its head cut off,” desperately seeking a route to San Francisco.
Upon arriving at the airport, his flight to San Francisco International Airport was already delayed, and the terminal screens showed no cancellations, so he believed he could simply wait it out. Then his phone buzzed with messages from friends informing him: “You’re stuck.”
An Alaska Airlines representative assisted him in rebooking for Saturday, but Richeimer was determined to maintain his plans in the Bay Area and hurried to find alternative transportation.
Other travelers in the vicinity appeared either to be frantically using their phones or sitting in shock. “It’s a little overwhelming,” he remarked.
His flight back to New York City on Sunday was scheduled to leave from SFO, so he attempted to contact rental car companies — hoping to drive instead — but no one answered his calls.
“I’m also part of a mass migration from this airport right now,” Richeimer commented. “I came to L.A. without realizing I might be stuck here forever.”
His strategy was to go to a rental car facility near LAX and hope for the best. His backup plan: crashing on a friend’s couch.
Maria Moye, a resident of Irvine, was seated at the Delta terminal at LAX responding to work emails while awaiting a rideshare to take her home.
The retail marketing director arrived at the airport two hours ahead of her scheduled 3:40 p.m. flight to New York’s JFK airport for a business trip — only to discover it had been affected by the groundstop. She mentioned trying to cancel her ticket, but Delta’s app and website were encountering technical difficulties.
“I feel relieved that I’m not getting on,” Moye acknowledged. “Just to be safe.”
Dylan Schroeder, 37, had boarded a plane in Charlotte, N.C. around 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time, headed for Orlando when an unusual announcement came from the pilot.
“Once everyone was settled,” he recounted, “the pilot announced that Air Traffic Control was experiencing system issues.”
The pilot indicated they would remain on the plane for updates and, after just over an hour, informed passengers they would need to deplane.
Schroeder, a resident of Baton Rouge, noted that the overall atmosphere on the plane was relatively good “given the situation.” Many passengers who seemed headed to Disney World looked quite disappointed.
Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed that the groundstop was due to a telecommunications failure and did not pose a national security concern.
As of 2:30 p.m., FlightAware, a flight tracking website, reported over 9,900 flights delayed throughout the United States and around 900 cancellations. At Los Angeles International Airport, more than 550 flights faced delays, and 47 were canceled.
United and Delta airlines shared updates on their websites to notify travelers.
“The FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop. New domestic flights will not take off while the FAA ground stop is in effect. International departures are being handled on a case-by-case basis by the FAA. United flights already in the air will continue, but diversions are occurring due to the high volume of planes grounded at our hubs. Cancellations are being enforced due to congestion in the nation’s air traffic system,” United stated on its website.
