The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its nationwide ground stop Friday evening after a communications failure disrupted air traffic control centers across the country, grounding departing flights for more than four hours.
Travelers should still expect delays and cancellations as airlines work to get flights and crews back on schedule, the FAA said.
Matt Wilkenson, who was traveling to San Antonio from Washington, D.C., said he learned about the ground stop after receiving a text from a coworker.
“We were here in town for work. When we heard of the news, I tried to get some of our coworkers together to drive back to the east coast, but they didn’t want to,” Wilkenson said. “So, I’ll be staying here and just relaxing in my hotel, until they get this thing fixed. What else can you do?”
For another traveler, the disruption meant potentially losing more time with family.
“My sister is in hospice, or going to hospice, so we’re trying to get there. Now, the next flight they have available isn’t until Sunday. So that’s stressful,” Dr. Jennifer Nixon said.
By late Friday, nearly 5,000 flights had been canceled nationwide, according to FlightAware data reported by ABC News. Nearly 800 additional cancellations had already been reported for Saturday.
The Associated Press also reported that at least 600 flights had been diverted during the disruption.
Some passengers chose to skip their flights and rent a car to reach their destination, avoiding airlines who are attempting to catch up.
JetBlue warned that disruptions could continue into Saturday, while United said it planned to cancel most of its remaining flights Friday night.
Duffy acknowledged that restoring normal operations would take time as airlines work to get aircraft and crews back into position.
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