Philadelphia Flyers Face Delays After Nationwide Ground Stop

Flight disruptions continued at Philadelphia International Airport on November 14, a day after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop. Passengers were still trying to reach their destinations on rescheduled flights as cancellations and delays mounted through the morning. The airport had recorded more than 100 cancellations and dozens of delays, and advised travelers to contact their airlines for current flight information.

The ground stop lasted about four and a half hours. It followed a major communications problem in the air traffic control system, where routers became overloaded with data. Some travelers at the airport were dealing with cancellations and delays that had started before the stop was announced.

One passenger said he was attempting to make his third flight while traveling to a friend’s birthday in California. Another described waiting several hours on a plane before it moved back to the terminal, after taxiing toward the runway. He said the wait was long enough to watch a full movie.

Passengers arriving for Saturday flights also described feeling worn down by the disruption. One traveler said she had checked in and dropped off her bags but had not yet completed the rest of her journey. Travelers were warned to expect further problems through the weekend and possibly into early the following week.