CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Travelers at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport faced another day of delays and cancellations following a nationwide ground stop Friday that disrupted thousands of flights across the country.
Among them was 5½-year-old Esakhan and his family, who were visiting relatives in Toronto and trying to return home to Atlanta.
“Our flight got canceled yesterday and it was still canceled today,” Esakhan said.
WATCH: 'Our flight got canceled': Travelers at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport facing cancellations, delays
His mother said they were told their flight was delayed because of a shortage of flight attendants.
“We're just hoping that our flight gets here soon and then we can leave,” she said.
Across the country, more than 12,500 flights have been canceled since the FAA grounded virtually all flights for four hours Friday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the ground stop on outdated technology that became overloaded.
Flights have since resumed at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, but many passengers were still dealing with the ripple effects.
Kyle Johansen of Lockport said he and his wife were supposed to fly through Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale.
“Now our Fort Lauderdale flight has been canceled and we're going to miss our cruise ship,” Johansen said.
Another traveler headed back home New Orleans said he spent the night at the airport after his plans were disrupted, sleeping on a couch in the terminal.
Other travelers faced hours-long delays. One couple said they were originally supposed to arrive in Phoenix at 6:30 p.m. but were now expecting to get there around 11:30 p.m.
Another couple said they were told there was roughly a 50-50 chance their flight would leave after an additional three-hour delay. If not, they planned to go home and try again.
For Johansen and his wife, there was eventually some good news.
“We were able to get a connecting flight, hopefully,” Johansen said. “Hopefully we don't get stuck in Atlanta.”
