More than 4K flights still canceled as FAA ground stop continues to snarl travel: ‘I’m tired and ready to go home’

Chaos continued Saturday at airports in the wake of the nationwide ground stop that brought all air travel in the US to a halt — with more than 4,000 flight delays and just as many flight cancellations stranding travelers across the country.

Though the FAA’s ground stop was lifted at 8:15 p.m., after four hours Friday, there were at least 4,467 cancellations across the US by Saturday afternoon, with another 4,430 delays.

Hundreds of stranded travelers camped out at New York’s LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports and Newark Airport in New Jersey had their eyes glued to the airline boards in the unlikely hopes that they would soon be able to get to their destinations.

Clara Berdasco was approaching her 22nd hour in JFK’s Terminal 4 Saturday afternoon and was fearful that her second flight to Argentina could be canceled.

She was meant to fly out Friday to celebrate her 40th birthday with family — but the ground order was issued just two minutes before her flight was supposed to board.

“This is super wrong. Super, super wrong. We don’t know where we’re going to get food. It’s crazy how this happened. Of course it’s super bad for me, because I had a special occasion,” Berdasco said.

The birthday girl had 60 people coming to her bash, which she will now only make by the skin of her teeth, so long as her Sunday morning flight isn’t canceled, as her original one had been.

LATAM Airlines warned her that her flight wouldn’t be rescheduled a second time.

“I am kind of desperate. We had planned to have barbecue for 60 people and you can’t store meat for several days. They had already prepared all the food. We are from a country with a family that’s not rich,” said Berdasco, adding that her family was considering donating the party meal to a local church.

JFK reported 280 cancellations and 202 delays on Saturday, FlightAware data shows.

LaGuardia Airport had 193 cancellations and 189 delays, while Newark reported 223 canceled and 167 delayed flights.

The chaos led Franklin Daley, 35, to miss his cousin’s funeral in Jamaica — a service for which he was supposed to deliver a speech.

“I’m not feeling good about that. I’m actually disappointed.  We were close. I used to help take care of him when he was a baby. And I’m stuck here. I have no option,” he said in anger.

Daley had been at JFK since 4 a.m. Saturday and was meant to fly out at 8 a.m., but his flight kept getting pushed back until it was rebooked for Monday.

The farmhand, who is working as a temporary apple picker in Hudson, plans to sleep at the airport until then because he cannot afford to stay at a hotel.

“The money that I have, I can’t even spare $100 out of it. I have to get a new roof for my house and take care of my two children,” Daley said.

“I will have dinner because I need real food but I’m going to skip breakfast, lunch and snacks.  I can’t afford it.”

Many travelers said they were forced to spend the night at the airport because nearby hotels jacked up prices. As of Saturday, rates at transit hotels in New York had reached as high as $550 for one night, The Post found.

The airlines are not offering vouchers for hotels since the decision to ground flights came from the government.

“The government has to be answerable to the people,” one Canadian passenger, who declined to share their name, told The Post.

“It’s disgusting. People were just camping on the floor all night. There are birds flying everywhere. It’s definitely been very frustrating. The worst part is that the airlines themselves are not very helpful.”

Maritza Cortez, 37, has been stranded in the airport since 4 p.m. Friday, telling The Post she has no idea when she’ll be able to make it home to Chile.

“They gave us boarding passes. We were at the gate and two minutes before we were supposed to get on the flight, they said it was canceled,” she said.

She has since bonded with Daniel Flores Gomez and his diabetic father, who were also meant to be on the same flight.

The men spent the night sleeping at JFK’s Terminal 4 after getting caught during their layover flight home to Chile after a 10-day trip in China.

“I keep asking LATAM, ‘When is the flight?’ They said they don’t know. They said 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, tomorrow, it could be Monday. Tell me the truth!” Gomez told The Post.

“I’ve been sleeping here because I don’t want to leave and miss the first flight out. The floor is hard. I want to take a shower.”

His father, Pedro Flores Novoa, 66, is struggling with eating well in the airport, considering his condition.

“I’m tired and ready to go home — today, right now,” he said.