Travelers feeling the impacts of FAA ground stop at Logan airport

BOSTON — The FAA’s nationwide ground stop may have only lasted four hours on Friday night, but this is only the beginning of the impacts to travelers hoping to catch a flight this weekend.

“Right now, it’s a major inconvenience and there’s gonna be delays, and these delays are gonna be significant and continue probably through the weekend,” Thomas Kinton, former Massport CEO and Executive Director, said.

Airports across the country became a situation that went from bad to worse Friday night, with thousands of flights canceled following the FAA issuing a nationwide ground stop.

Kinton said the timing couldn’t be worse.

“You’re gonna have some flights that will go, others are gonna cancel, then they’re gonna have to rebook those passengers heading into one of the busiest travel weeks of the year starting on Sunday,” Kinton said.

Most travelers were forced to come up with backup plans for the night, knowing they wouldn’t be making it to their destination.

“At this point we’re just gonna wait it out and see if everything resolves and get a flight, because we’re never gonna make it there if we drive,” Tammie Cook said, who was hoping to make it to Florida by Saturday to board a cruise ship.

“A little frustrated trying to rebook on the app and seats keep getting gobbled up, hotel rooms are going very fast, we’re seeing the price raise on the hotel rooms as well,” Kelly Koch, who was trying to get home to Atlanta, Georgia, said.

Some nearby hotels seemed to find a way to capitalize on the situation, according to travelers.

“It was like at $350 when I initially found it and then as soon as I clicked book room it was double, it was like $600… and it was like seconds,” Libia Jimenez, who is also trying to fly home to Georgia, said.

Ultimately everyone seemed to agree as frustrated as they were, safety is what matters most.

“Nobody wants anything to happen to somebody on a plane. We’ve already seen that way too many times. I come from a public safety background, I’m not taking that chance. I’ll wait it out,” Cook said.

“Just upset that I can’t be with my family but I’d rather be safe and on the ground than in harm’s way up in the air,” Rafaella Shanahan, who was hoping to travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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