What to know about flights after the US nationwide ground stop

Detailed summary

A nationwide ground stop ended around 8:15 p.m. ET, and some domestic flights have now departed from U.S. airports.

A nationwide ground stop ended around 8:15 p.m. ET, and some domestic flights have now departed from U.S. airports.

However, normalizing 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 canceled in the U.S. on Saturday and hundreds more were delayed, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Americans traveling 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 that 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 U.S.-bound departures at the request of the FAA from 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday until midnight.

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