SEATAC, Wash. — It was day two of disruptions for air travelers across the U.S., Saturday, after the FAA issued a nearly four-and-a-half-hour ground stop for most flights Friday.
The FAA took the rare step after routine maintenance on aging systems disrupted air traffic controllers’ ability to communicate with aircrafts.
The ground stop threw airline schedules off track.
“And it was a big scare. I was kind of wondering like, what was going on?” traveler Laquanta Day said, Saturday.
Day, who said she took her first ever trip by plane this week, said her flight into Seattle was fine, but she became alarmed after her connecting flight was canceled.
“I’m thinking like something really bad happened,” Day said. “Like, why did they cancel my plane?”
Ryan Nobriga got word about the ground stop while trying to fly out of Chicago.
“I was literally on the tarmac when it all happened,” Nobriga said.
Nobriga said they taxied back to the gate, where he rebooked a flight to Seattle. That’s where KIRO 7 found him searching through baggage claim.
“Here I am trying to find my bags and, hopefully, they’re here. It doesn’t look like they’re there,” Nobriga said.
Nobriga’s luggage was apparently misplaced during the flight disruption.
While Nobriga planned to fly to Hawaii Sunday, William Cromwell was deciding whether to rebook his family’s canceled flight to Sacramento.
“Basically, we have to either stay two days [to fly out] or rent a car, drive all the way down, then hopefully get reimbursed from the travel agency,” Cromwell said.
Day said, because of the ground stop, she’s done flying -- for now. She was waiting for her husband to drive from Montana to pick her up.
“No more planes for me,” Day insisted. “No more planes, I’ll catch a train. It’s already on the ground. It won’t be grounded.”