US nationwide flight ground stop ends, but delays could last for days: Here's what passengers need to know

Detailed summary

The FAA ended a nationwide ground stop Friday evening, allowing some domestic flights to resume.

A nationwide ground stop ended around 8:15 pm Eastern time, and some domestic flights have now departed from US airports.

However, normalising air traffic after the longest flight stoppage in 25 years will be slow, authorities warned.

Officials say the system is likely to be operating normally in time to handle the Thanksgiving travel rush.

The Federal Aviation Administration said airplane departures could resume late Friday evening Eastern time. Passengers should contact their airlines for information about their flights, the FAA said.

More than 2,500 flights were cancelled in the US on Saturday and hundreds more were delayed, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Americans travelling that getting air traffic back to normal won't be quick.

International flights are being handled on a case-by-case basis, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

San Francisco airport said flights headed across the Pacific Ocean were cleared to leave the airport from Friday evening. That included flights destined for Hawaii and Asia.

Europe's aviation agency suspended US-bound departures at the request of the FAA from 5 pm Eastern on Friday until midnight.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Hindustan Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.