Two flights leaving New York for São Paulo were canceled this Saturday morning (14), and other arrivals from the United States were delayed by more than three hours. Operations resumed in the USA on Friday night (13), after a stoppage of around four hours; Normalization must be gradual.
São Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos, recorded cancellations and delays on flights from the United States this Saturday morning (14), after a failure in American air traffic control caused a stoppage of around four hours on Friday (13).
Among the flights scheduled to arrive in Guarulhos by 7am, two were cancelled. Both would come from New York and were scheduled to land at 6:15 am and 7 am.
Other arrivals from the United States were delayed by three to four hours. Despite the changes, movement was calm at Guarulhos Airport early in the morning.
One of the biggest delays recorded was a flight from Atlanta. Arrival was scheduled for 5:40 am, but the new forecast was for landing at 9:45 am, more than four hours later.
Another flight, coming from Miami, was supposed to arrive in Guarulhos at 6:20 am. The landing forecast was increased to 9:38 am, a delay of more than three hours.
Despite the problems, there was no record of confusion among passengers at the airport this Saturday morning.
On Friday, passengers affected by the delays waited for information in front of the boarding gates. Some remained inside the aircraft when the flights were close to their scheduled departure time.
Regarding departures from Guarulhos to the United States, the first flight scheduled this Saturday is to Miami, at 10:15 am.
Early in the morning, at 6:30 am, the departure appeared on the airport panel as confirmed, with check-in open.
Given the consequences of the shutdown in the United States, however, passengers are advised to consult the airlines directly to check the status of their flights.
The United States began resuming operations on Friday night. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorized the resumption at 8:15 pm East Coast time, 10:15 pm Brasília time.
The suspension of takeoffs lasted around four hours and was determined after air traffic control centers registered problems with radar and communication systems.
According to the American government, the equipment responsible for transmitting and organizing information between the centers was overloaded and began to present inconsistent data.
The government also reported that the immediate problem had been corrected and that operations could safely resume. Still, the expectation is that the effects of the strike will continue in the coming days.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that airlines will need time to reorganize operations.
"It's going to be slow," Duffy told reporters at the White House.
As of 11:30 pm on Friday, local time, almost 10,000 flights had been canceled in the United States, according to Flightradar24.
Among the most affected companies were Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, with more than 2,200 cancellations each, and United Airlines, with 1,800. At some of the main American airports, passengers waited more than five hours to disembark.
Experts in the airline industry estimate that the effects of the stoppage could last for several days, even after operations resume.
On Friday, the concessionaire GRU Airport informed TV Globo and g1 that it had received a safety alert so that air traffic originating or ending in the United States would remain on the ground until further notice.
Of the 15 flights to the United States scheduled to leave Guarulhos, eight were canceled and two were delayed.
The eight canceled flights were operated by American Airlines and Latam and included destinations such as Miami, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Boston. Another seven flights operated by United Airlines and Delta were confirmed at the time of the investigation, with destinations such as Chicago, Houston, Washington, Atlanta and New York.
Airlines said Friday they were monitoring the impacts of the shutdown and working to assist affected passengers. Latam, for example, reported that it sought to offer "possible alternatives to passengers who may be affected, including flexibility options to facilitate the rescheduling of their trips."
