Delays and cancellations are expected at numerous airports today after The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) enforced a ground stop
A family waits at a terminal as flights are delayed at Los Angeles International Airport Friday(Image: AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Passengers flying to and from UK airports in America today are likely to face disruption after flights were grounded across the United States by The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Manchester Airport has warned that three US-bound Virgin Atlantic flights scheduled to leave on Saturday morning are likely to be affected. Gatwick, meanwhile, is understood to be facing minimal impact.
The FAA said the dramatic step was taken due to “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety”. The latest statement from FAA reads “The safety of the flying public is always the FAA’s highest priority. The FAA lifted the ground stop and some flight departures are resuming. Before clearing flights to resume, we thoroughly tested our systems to confirm they were stable and that operations remain reliable. Passengers should contact their airlines for flight updates.”
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In the early hours of this morning the FAA has begun gradually lifting restrictions as systems come back online, with some flights receiving clearance to depart for overseas destinations, including Germany and Prague.
Accoriding to FlightAware a total of 3,530 flights have been delayed tomorrow and 2,352 flights have been cancelled tomorrow. The total delays within, into, or out of the United States tomorrow is 330 and the total cancellations within, into, or out of the United States tomorrow is 2,144.
A British Airways spokesperson said: “Our flights departing the United States may be delayed due to the ongoing air traffic control issue. Customers are advised to travel to the airport as planned so we can try to depart our aircraft as quickly as possible.“This is entirely outside of our control and our teams are working hard to minimise any disruption to our customers.”
London Heathrow’s website said most of its flights scheduled to depart on Saturday morning were running on schedule, however an 8.20am flight to Dallas Fort Worth had been cancelled, along with a number of incoming flights from the US.
Heathrow is the only UK airport with confirmed UK cancellations and delays and that Manchester is also expecting issues. We are awaiting an update from other UK airports.
See the full list below:
Airlines with the most cancellations:
- Delta Air Lines: 404 cancellations and 76 delays.
- JetBlue: 332 cancellations and one delay.
- United Airlines: 257 cancellations and 43 delays.
- American Airlines: 190 cancellations and 33 delays.
- Republic Airways: 105 cancellations and 12 delays.
- Southwest Airlines: 95 cancellations and 30 delays.
- PSA Airlines: 91 cancellations and 31 delays.
- Envoy Air: 87 cancellations and two delays.
- SkyWest: 85 cancellations and four delays.
- Endeavor Air: 81 cancellations and four delays.
Delta recorded the highest number of cancellations, followed by JetBlue and United. JetBlue also had a particularly high cancellation rate, with 40% of its flights cancelled in the figures supplied.Airlines with the most delays:
- China Eastern: 190 delays.
- Delta Air Lines: 76 delays.
- United Airlines: 43 delays.
- American Airlines: 33 delays.
- Southwest Airlines: 30 delays.
- Saudia: 19 delays.
- Tianjin Airlines: 18 delays.
- Shenzhen Airlines: 66 delays.
- Air China: 96 delays.
Airports with the most delays:
- Reagan National (DCA) – 8 delays
- Heathrow (LHR) – 35 delays
- Hartsfield-Jackson Intl (ATL) – 12 delays
- Frankfurt/Main (FRA) – 58 delays
- Miami Intl (MIA) – 6 delays
- Orlando Intl (MCO) – 15 delays
- Dallas-Fort Worth Intl (DFW) – 38 delays
- John F Kennedy Intl (JFK)- 39 delays
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