NEW YORK - Confusion reigned at airports across the United States on Friday as a rare grounding of all U.S. flights stranded hundreds of thousands of frustrated travellers.
In New York’s busy LaGuardia airport, Janice Llewellyn was on the verge of tears: the chaos could mean she will miss her daughter’s wedding in Toronto.
The 61-year-old Llewellyn was desperate to find an alternative route, telling AFP: “I may lose my mind.”
“My husband flew all the way from England to get to the wedding,” she said.
“Oh gosh! I wish they had another flight, I wish I could get another flight, like, now.”
At the airport in Las Vegas, some fliers were told their journeys were delayed due to wind.
One airline staffer said the ground stop would last eight hours. Another said 24 hours.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials eventually lifted the ground stop at 8:15 pm ET (0115 GMT Saturday).
“It will take us time (to) resume normal operations,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said, blaming the incident on telecommunications issues with decades-old equipment.
During the stop, the lack of information led many passengers to form long lines at rental car counters in a mad dash for travel alternatives.
Joseph Anderson said he was trying to get back to Oakland in California from Las Vegas and was considering driving -- but said “if the whole country is stopped, that means the highways are going to be jammed too.”
The 72-year-old retired Air Force veteran said his already-checked luggage was captive, meaning “we’re kind of stuck.”
“I would hope the communication can be better from the FAA,” he said.
Friday 13th
The ground stop comes less than two weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, the busiest travel period of the year in the United States.
And it falls ahead of a particularly busy weekend for professional and college sports -- teams and their fans are also stuck.
Back in New York, Tiara Johnson had been heading to Orlando in Florida for a weekend concert, and any hope that she would make it was growing dim.
“You think you’re gonna be there in three hours, but your whole evening is kind of done!” the 50-year-old told AFP.
“But hey, they say it’s Friday the 13th!”
Harried passengers stared at their phones, calm but annoyed, wandering the airport terminal without clear direction.
Hagit Levy Shalev, 54, was zen.
She booked a new flight for Saturday morning, meaning her work trip would last a little longer.
“I’ll get there,” she laughed. “One more extra day away from the kids!”
By Raphael Hermano, with Paula Ramon in Las Vegas
