Air crash in the USA frustrates travel and leaves passengers without boarding plans

The panels at Ronald Reagan National Airport, on the outskirts of Washington, displayed a succession of delayed or canceled flights this Friday (13). Amid the suspension of takeoffs in the United States, passengers were divided between queues at airline counters, attempts to rebook tickets and waiting for luggage.

The shutdown affected work trips, family reunions and vacations planned in advance. American Candice Cage, 62, was already on the plane that would take her to Buffalo, in the state of New York, for a professional appointment when she found out about the interruption. After waiting for about an hour and a half on board, she and the other passengers were allowed to disembark.

"We sat on the plane for about an hour and a half and we started receiving all this news, everyone saying that the whole country had stopped, the FAA [federal aviation agency] and everything. So we knew that, at some point, they were going to let us out. Now we're all here, waiting," he told Folha.

Accustomed to traveling for work, Cage works in the college sports sector and said the shutdown also affected teams and referees who depend on flights to fulfill their schedules. While waiting for a solution, I tried to reorganize the hotel reservation, car rental and travel to be able to arrive in time for a meeting on Saturday (14).

"They were saying it would probably take three to five hours for everything to work again. Honestly, I'm not very optimistic. I live here, so I'm going to try to reschedule for tomorrow morning. I don't think anyone will be able to get out," he said.

The passenger stated that she did not believe, at first, that the breakdown was related to a major cyber attack, although she recalled the problems recorded the previous day with Microsoft services. “And today is Friday the 13th,” he joked. "But we're safe; we're on land. That's what matters."

For Brazilian Amanda, who asked that her surname not be identified, the disorder threatens a vacation trip to Brazil and, above all, her plans to reunite with her grandmother. She intended to leave for Rio de Janeiro on Friday night.

The 24-day trip included a trip with family to the Northeast of Brazil. With the successive postponements of the first leg, he decided to give up waiting at the boarding gate and return home. The problem was being able to retrieve the suitcase, which had been checked in before the cancellation.

"When I left, they hadn't canceled my flight yet, but they were postponing, postponing, postponing. I decided it was better to take my suitcase and leave, since I live here, and try to find another flight," he said.

According to her, an airline employee informed her that there were no seats available in the alternatives researched by the company. Now, he hopes to be able to board a Copa Airlines flight this Saturday, but has not yet been able to confirm the rescheduling.

"I've been waiting for the suitcase for an hour. They said there's no estimate on when they'll be able to deliver them, because there aren't many people working back there," he said. She also reported that the estimated waiting time for the company's telephone service was three hours.

The Brazilian said that the succession of technological problems in recent days has increased apprehension among passengers. "Given the state things are in the country at the moment, everything gives you butterflies, right? They're saying, for now, that they have nothing to do with national security. As far as I trust that, I don't know," he said.

Among the passengers trying to reorganize their trip was also Xiao Wang, 38, with a flight scheduled for Boston at 6:45 pm. She found out about the outage while heading to the airport, but decided to attend anyway.

"As soon as I arrived, I asked the attendant if he recommended rescheduling for tomorrow or checking in and waiting. He said it was my decision. So I checked in my bag, but as I walked to security control, I received notification that my flight had been cancelled," she said, who now plans to look for a hotel close to the airport to wait for the airline system to return to normal.