Ground stop affects DJT airport in Palm Beach County

The Owls’ game against Tulsa was pushed back to 7:15 p.m. EST

The Owls’ game against Tulsa was pushed back to 7:15 p.m. EST

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon for all airports, including President Donald Trump International Airport, due to a communications issue that forced the cancellation of several thousand flights.

Florida Atlantic football team members were unable to depart from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for a game in Tulsa at 3:30 p.m. EST Saturday. FAU radio announcer Ken LaVicka posted on X that they had to switch to another charter plane later because of mechanical issues, and then waited on the tarmac in buses for about an hour before returning to the FAU campus in Boca Raton. He said "wheels are in motion" to fly out Saturday morning, and Tulsa later announced a later kickoff of 7:15 p.m. EST.

At 8:15 p.m. Friday, the four-hour ground stop was lifted, including at DJT, but many airlines had called off flights for the rest of the night. Already, 1,593 flights for Saturday were canceled, as of Friday night.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the issue was impacting all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which are responsible for all flights above 18,000 feet. On Friday night, he described the need to continue to upgrade the air traffic control system with some technology from the 1980s, including floppy

At DJT, there have been 91 delays — 34 departures and 33 arrivals –with 31 cancellations at DJT as of 10 p.m., according to FlightAware.

The cancellations represent 9% of total daily departures and 8% of arrivals.

"The FAA has lifted the nationwide ground stop," the airport said in an advisory. "Passengers are encouraged to check directly with their airlines for the latest flight status and travel updates."

WPBF reporter Jolie Rodriguez was aboard a jet waiting to take off from DJT to Chicago.

At 5:15 p.m., she said, "We are de-boarding our plane because the pilot said it could be up to 6 hours until we get an update."

At the airport in Fort Lauderdale, there are 215 total delays and 211 cancellations. At Miami International Airport, there are 432 total delays and 199 cancellations.

Nationwide, there are 8,501 delays and 6,925 cancellations. There are about 45,000 flights nationally each day.

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