More than 450 flights were delayed Monday causing chaos at Newark and Atlanta international airports following the weekend’s ground stop order over air traffic control failures.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning that a second ground stop order was possible given the situation at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International — the busiest airport in the US — which has seen more than 370 delays as of Monday afternoon, according to FlightAware’s tracking data.
The warning comes after the agency’s Sunday stop order over runway equipment issues, air traffic control equipment outage and thunderstorms, which disrupted more than 500 flights in and out of Atlanta.
The bulk of the Monday delays were affecting Delta Air Lines, which has its main hub in Atlanta.
At Newark Liberty International, 82 flights have been canceled, with another 85 delayed following the airport’s own Sunday mayhem, according to FlightAware.
The FAA had issued a 45-minute ground stop at the New Jersey airport following an outage at one of its air traffic control facilities — resulting in dozens of cancellations and delays.
The agency warned passengers on Monday that they should expect an average of 19-minute delays on all flights through 9 p.m., with the airport claiming the delays were due to “FAA staffing issues.”
The Newark airport was thrust into the national spotlight on Friday after a radar malfunction caused a total standstill and led US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to order a reduction of traffic at the airport for the “next several weeks.”
Duffy has insisted that “it is” safe to fly out of New Jersey’s busiest airport, despite admitting that it uses an “old” system and said he planned to meet with all airlines flying out of Newark.
Duffy also blamed his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, and the Biden administration on Monday for the ongoing problems at Newark, accusing them of failing to update the airport while in office and bungling last year’s move of air traffic control from New York to Philadelphia.
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