Hours-long halt to US flights leaves travelers frustrated, anxious

By Kanishka Singh, Maria Tsvetkova, Elizabeth Mendez and Doyinsola Oladipo

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK/SAN JOSE, California, Nov 13 (Reuters) - David Johnson had his cross-country flight delayed twice. Barbara Steinberg expected to miss her high-school reunion. And Grissel Francis could not help but think of the September 11, 2001 hijackings.

"It was kind of scary," Francis said on Friday during the largest halt to US air travel since the 2001 attacks. "You have these flashbacks from 9/11, you know." 

They were among tens of thousands of fliers forced to change their plans when the FAA issued a ground stop that lasted four hours and led to the cancellations of more than 6,600 flights, with 8,600 delayed, according to FlightRadar24. 

It was just the third nationwide stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration this century.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the problems not on malicious actors but on a failure of aging network technology in the radar and communications system used for air traffic control.  

At the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where information displays were almost completely filled with flights marked "Delayed" or "Cancelled," some travelers appeared resigned as they wondered how long the delays would last and how their travel plans would be affected. 

The uncertainty frustrated Johnson and others. 

"I don’t know at this point how something like this could be happening and how this situation can last so long," said Johnson, who was trying to fly from Washington to San Francisco. "I could make alternative plans if at least the duration (of the delay) was known and clearly communicated."

Steinberg expressed doubts that she would make her reunion after her Porter Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Toronto was canceled, forcing her to rebook for Saturday.

"There’s a lot of infrastructure that needs to be fixed, and that’s what somebody needs to figure out," said Steinberg, an accountant from Cedar Knolls, New Jersey.

Debra Bliesner, 71, of Corralitos, California, viewed the FAA’s ground stop as a prudent action. 

"I spent 30 years in the Air Force, so when the FAA is issuing a stoppage, I take that pretty seriously," said Bliesner, who was at the San Jose Mineta International Airport for a flight to Palm Springs. "So, my prayer on the way in here was, if my safety is compromised … I mean, I’d rather be inconvenienced," she said.

Grissel and Joseph Francis were already in the air on a flight from Dallas to New York when the crew announced that all flights were grounded across the country and that their plane would be one of the last to make it to its planned destination.

"It was just a surreal moment," Grissel Francis said. 

After landing at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, their plane waited on the crowded runway for about an hour for an available gate, alongside several other aircraft lined up behind it.

Even after the FAA lifted the ground stop, tens of thousands of travelers remained stuck at airports, possibly overnight, Duffy said. 

Edward Karagbo, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was scheduled to take an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Friday to Lome, Togo. Instead he found himself at Newark Liberty International Airport waiting for a plane that was rerouted and rescheduled for a departure nine hours later.

"I have to squat the night here," he said. "I’m stranded."