Delays expected for days after US lifts nationwide flight halt

An “extremely rare” order grounding all flights across the US has now been lifted, prompting travel delays for the next few days.

This news comes after a Kiwi stranded at a US airport said holidaymakers had been left confused and in the dark as lengthy delays rippled across the country.

Earlier today, US aviation regulators issued a ground stop of all flights after a major communications outage.

AFP reported that the Department of Homeland Security said the situation did not appear to be the result of any “nefarious attack”.

In an update this afternoon, US officials said departures had finally been given the green light to resume.

Delays expected for days

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said flight movement depended on resources.

“It’s going to take us some time to unwind what’s happened this afternoon,” Duffy said.

He said the outage would cause a ripple effect, and they were looking at flights this weekend to try to get things back on track.

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters there was currently no reason to suspect a national security threat was behind the communications outage.

“There’s no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for their loved ones,” Mullin said.

He said it was not “another 9/11″.

House of Travel chief executive David Coombes said travellers should expect delays over the coming days as airlines worked to get schedules back to normal.

According to FlightAware, there were 25,482 flight cancellations and delays today.

‘We haven’t been told anything’

Auckland local Leigh Robertson told the Herald she was on holiday in the US when the issue struck.

Robertson was set to board a Delta flight from San Francisco Airport to Los Angeles when her service was suddenly delayed.

Over three hours later, she said her flight had finally been cancelled.

Robertson said the cancellation raised concerns about whether airlines would be able to accommodate all affected passengers in hotels overnight as a result of the disruption.

She said many people may be in for a “long night”.

Before her flight was cancelled, she said it had already received three delays.

“We haven’t been told anything by the airport, like nothing at all. My flight just keeps getting rolling delays.”

She said other passengers were told over the loudspeaker there were multiple canceled flights to Canada.

Despite the frustrating situation, Robertson said people remained “pretty calm and quiet”.

She said tourists were yet to show any “big demonstrations of frustration” but people had “gotten up and groaned a little bit”.

“They don’t have a crystal ball; they don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’s really hard being like, ‘do we cancel a flight and then get the train down or a rental car?’”

Auckland resident Leigh Robertson told the Herald she was on holiday in the US when the issue struck. Photo / Leigh Robertson 

She said holidaymakers had received no information from airport staff about what was happening and had to rely on Google for updates. 

Robertson said she had never been in an airport as busy as where she was now, with “thousands of people sitting anywhere they can”. 

“It’s very first-world problems for me, but I’m a bit gutted that my potential holiday time in LA could be affected, but I’m sure there are people out there with far greater impacts for them.” 

Another Kiwi traveller told the Herald he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport and it was “totally shut down”. 

Passengers wait at boarding gates at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at all US airports due to a communications problem. Photo / Zina Desmazes, AFP 

Air NZ delay flights to US 

Air New Zealand’s chief operations officer Kate Boyer said the airline was “closely monitoring” the situation in the US. 

Boyer said they had no flights scheduled to depart New Zealand for the US until this evening. There was currently no impact on these services. 

“For Air New Zealand flights departing the USA to New Zealand, at this stage we’ve proactively delayed these services by two hours as a precaution while we assess the situation,” she said. 

Boyer said they would contact customers directly if their flights are affected. 

Travellers are encouraged to keep an eye on the travel alert section of the Air New Zealand website and their Air NZ app. 

AFP reported that the halt triggered immediate chaos and confusion for travellers, with departure boards at many airports showing flights were operating normally, even as customers were unable to board planes. 

The Federal Aviation Administration “issued a nationwide ground stop for all US airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centres”, the agency said. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue.” 

In a subsequent message on X, the agency described the problem as “a temporary telecommunications outage” and said it was acting “out of an abundance of caution”. 

– Additional reporting by AFP