The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had to unexpectedly suspend aircraft at many major airports along the East Coast and in Texas on Tuesday evening due to severe thunderstorms that were sweeping the country. This caused pandemonium in the air travel system.
At key airports, such as John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
(BWI), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), the FAA conducted ground stops, stopping all departures. At the same time, major ground delays
were implemented at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York and Philadelphia International Airport, which exacerbated the disturbances that were predicted to continue through the night.
At major airports in the Northeast, the initial effects were significant. Departures from the Baltimore and Washington-area airports (BWI and DCA) were halted until 5:30 PM ET, and flights from JFK and Newark
were suspended until at least 5:15 PM ET. Flights to DFW were informed that they would not be able to take off until after 9:00 PM ET.
Significant delays continued and were expected to last overnight until Wednesday, July 9th, even after the initial ground pauses may have ended. According to the FAA, planes departing from JFK saw average
delays that grew to more than two hours and seven minutes. Newark passengers had to wait the longest, on average more than three hours, while LaGuardia passengers saw delays of more than an hour and a half.
The disturbance swiftly extended beyond the original list. Due to thunderstorms, flights at Denver International Airport were also halted until at least 5:30 PM ET. Later, the FAA placed Virginia’s
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) under a ground stop until 5:30 PM ET, adding it to the expanding list of important traffic hubs.
Cancellations increased as delays increased across the country. More than 1,100 flights nationwide had been canceled for the day by 5:00 PM ET. With over 26,000 planes encountering delays, the disruption
was massive in scope, causing average wait times at most airports to exceed thirty minutes. After another large storm system grounded thousands of flights along the East Coast on June 30th, this was the second major weather-related airport problem in less than a week.
The passengers’ annoyance grew. “Once we arrived at the airport, our connection back to DFW was canceled. We took a taxi to LGA after our flight, and then we parked. On social media platform X, one tourist raged, “They will give us an hour’s update after we make a ground stop at LGA.”
Affected travelers were advised by travel experts to brace themselves for further challenges. Dollar Flight Club founder Jesse Neugarten suggested taking preventative action: “You’ll often see the writing on the wall before the airline officially tells you if the plane that’s supposed to be your flight is delayed in another city.
” He underlined the importance of rebooking quickly and suggested viewing choices on the airline’s app or website as soon as cancellation occurs, frequently before official announcements. “Airlines usually
load alternate flight options right into the app when a cancellation happens, and sometimes you’ll even get rebooking offers without asking,” Neugarten said. He also recommended phoning the airline’s help
desk in another nation, such as Canada or the UK, where wait times are frequently shorter but agents may still help with rebooking flights within the United States, as a workaround for overloaded U.S. customer support lines.
There is little respite from the forecast. The disruption may last the entire week, according to AccuWeather. Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio might be affected by increased flash flood hazards in Texas
on Wednesday, according to meteorologists. Additionally, Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas are predicted to experience severe thunderstorms once again in the Mid-Atlantic. More heavy rain is
expected on Thursday and Friday, which could prolong the travel turmoil across the country by causing new delays in air travel along the Northeast corridor, which includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
