JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The FAA has lifted all ground stops across the U.S. Throughout the day, the ground stop impacted more than a dozen flights here at home.
Action News Jax first started going live from Jacksonville International Airport around 5:30 p.m. and only saw delays. Later, nearly all arrivals and departures were canceled. Passengers told Action News Jax they were forced to figure out other plans for the night.
“The captain told us that we need to go back, that there was some nationwide delay,” said passenger Mark Pera.
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That’s how the evening started for Pera and his co-workers, who were on a two-day work trip in Jacksonville.
“Our plan B now is we rented a car and we’re driving back to New York right now,” Pera said. Asked how long that drive takes, he said, “You really ask that? It’s going to take us 14 hours.”
Passenger Sheri Wilcox, also on a work trip, is planning to hunker down.
“I have rebooked for tomorrow morning and got a hotel room,” Wilcox said.
The FAA enforced a ground stop nationwide, prompting hours of delays. International flights returning to the states were also canceled. Action News Jax meteorologist Sarah Cantey was seconds away from boarding her flight home from Aruba.
“They just didn’t let anyone board the plane. Everyone was just kind of hanging out, trying to figure out what to do. And when we saw the headlines, we’re like, well, there’s no way we’re going to get out tonight,” Cantey said.
Passengers back at home told Action News Jax they weren’t getting many updates or thorough information from airlines.
“United is trying to update about every 30 minutes, but pretty much that’s just pushing out, we’ll update at 30 minutes. You’re still delayed, so definitely just need to know what’s going on. And I know it’s a difficult situation,” Wilcox said.
The Department of Homeland Security says there was no threat to the country and that this was a telecommunications issue. JIA is encouraging passengers to check FlightAware for updates and options to rebook.
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