“For the moment, I have very little information”: at Atlanta airport, the hardship for passengers after the closure of American airspace

Exceptional chaos affected all airports in the United States on Friday, November 13. At least 6,000 flights were canceled and hundreds of thousands of passengers affected by the closure of US airspace for several hours and the suspension of all takeoffs in the country. As a precaution, authorities grounded all planes due to communications problems caused by "old equipment", according to the US government.

As soon as they entered the Atlanta airport terminal on Friday evening, travelers were sitting on the ground. Everywhere, even on the baggage belts, everyone is glued to their phone trying to find a solution. The display boards flash red: all lines indicate canceled flights. Behind the windows, planes are lined up by the dozens on the tarmac, motionless.

Among the travelers, Kelly, a musician, was due to reach Mississippi the next evening for a concert. She got on the plane, but sat there for three hours. The device did not move. Then the passengers were asked to get off. No timetable has been communicated to him for a new flight. She will finally make the trip the next day by taxi: a six-hour drive to Jackson.

“I prefer to be safe on the ground”

Stacy and Dalaija were heading home to Chicago. Their flight was canceled and postponed until the next day. All that remains is to find somewhere to sleep. All the hotels in the area are full to bursting, says one of them: "We are hungry, we lack sleep, we can't even go there by car, there is no more rental car, everything has been booked. It's very annoying but I prefer to be safe on the ground rather than on the plane when they have no communication."

They will finally spend the night with their cousins ​​in Atlanta. But here, many travelers are already preparing to sleep on the airport floor. Rebecca still hasn't found a hotel. "I'll probably have to spend the night here," she explains. "I was going to Washington for a conference in which I am speaking. I absolutely have to be there. For the moment, I have very little information about what is happening. It's confusing. First they said it was for security reasons, then that we shouldn't worry about security."

At the Atlanta airport, traffic began to resume very slowly on Friday evening. “It will take time for us to return to normal operations. Our top priority is your safety and that of your family when you fly,” said Transport Minister Sean Duffy. An event which highlights the enormous investment needs in the sector.