US flight delays and cancellations continued on Saturday morning, even after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide ground stop that had temporarily halted flights across the country following a telecommunications outage.
Although the FAA has allowed flights to resume, passengers travelling to, from and within the United States are still facing significant disruption as airlines work to restore normal operations. The ground stop, issued on Friday, affected flights nationwide and left thousands of travellers dealing with cancellations, delays and uncertainty over their travel plans.
The FAA confirmed that the restriction had been lifted and that some departures were resuming. However, the agency said it had carried out extensive system checks before allowing aircraft to return to the skies.
“Before clearing flights to resume, we thoroughly tested our systems to confirm they were stable and that operations remain reliable,” the agency said in a statement. It also advised passengers to contact their airlines directly for the latest information about their flights.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the disruption to the country’s ageing air traffic control infrastructure, describing the system as “incredibly old”. He warned that lifting the ground stop would not immediately restore normal flight schedules, as airlines still needed to address the operational problems caused by the shutdown.
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Speaking to reporters, Duffy said US airspace had reopened at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday. However, he cautioned that the recovery would be gradual and depend partly on the availability of pilots, flight attendants and other airline crews.
“At 8:15 (pm) tonight, eastern time, we’ve opened up the airspace. Now does that mean every flight is going to fly? Right now, it’s going to be slow,” he said.
Duffy explained that airlines would attempt to operate as many flights as possible, but warned that the disruption would take time to resolve.
“We’re going to try to move as many of those as we can tonight,” he added, referring to flights affected by the shutdown. He also said it would take time for the aviation industry to recover from the disruption.
The scale of the problem remained visible on Saturday morning, with flight-tracking services reporting widespread disruption at major US airports. Flightradar24’s airport disruption map showed significant problems across the country, while FlightAware reported more than 8,860 cancellations involving flights to or from the United States on Friday.
A further 2,650 cancellations had been recorded by Saturday morning, according to FlightAware, indicating that the effects of the ground stop were continuing well after the FAA’s announcement that operations could resume.
Major US airlines, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, confirmed that they were restarting flight operations. However, resuming services does not necessarily mean that passengers will be able to travel according to their original schedules, as airlines must manage aircraft availability, crew schedules and outstanding cancellations.
American Airlines said it was concentrating on operating as many remaining flights as possible while preparing for a wider recovery over the following days.
“We’re focused on operating as many remaining flights as possible this evening while positioning the airline for the strongest possible recovery in the days ahead,” the airline said in a statement late Friday.
For passengers with upcoming departures, the continuing disruption means that checking flight status before leaving for the airport remains important. Travellers should also monitor airline notifications, as departure times and flight arrangements may change while carriers work through the backlog.
