US ground stop live updates: Passengers stranded and thousands of flights delayed as FAA order lifted

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Over 9,000 flights were delayed Friday in the US

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A ground stop for all planes in the U.S. was lifted Friday night after hours of chaos, with flights delayed and passengers stranded.

Around 8:30 p.m., Trump administration officials announced the order was over and said there was no evidence of a cyberattack. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy detailed that the nation’s aging traffic control system got “overloaded with data.”

The Federal Aviation Administration issued the stop around 4 p.m. Eastern Time, creating chaos at airports nationwide. Roughly 3,000 planes were in the air when the ground stop order was issued, Duffy said. Flights already in the air were allowed to land, but most were not allowed to leave.

Duffy warned that it would take some time to get the American aviation system back to normal after the order.

Passengers were stranded at airports waiting for information about when they might catch their flight. People found seats in the hallway and waited or checked their phones for the latest updates.

“I’m just bummed. I wanted to go home, I mean, it’s great to be here but not in the airport,” Emily Esterly told a Miami news station.

Though the ground stop has been lifted, the disruption for passengers was far from over.

From Boston to Seattle and New York to Los Angeles, passengers crowded departure halls and airline desks as delays and cancellations mounted and aircraft remained parked at gates.

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