San Antonio travelers received a sigh of relief on Saturday as flight disruptions at San Antonio International Airport began to subside. The airport reported that up to 15 flights were canceled on Saturday, down from the roughly 30 cancellations that plagued the airport on Friday.
What caused the outage?
The disruption stemmed from a nationwide data overload that forced the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a nearly four‑hour ground stop on Friday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that officials do not believe the outage resulted from a cyberattack.
Impact on travelers
Thousands of flights across the United States were delayed or canceled on Friday, with more than 15,000 flights affected. About 3,000 additional flights were expected to feel the ripple effect on Saturday as airlines worked through the backlog.
Among those caught in the chaos were Randy Reynolds and his wife, Scarlett, who were in San Antonio for a conference and needed to return home to Tennessee. “We just looked at it as an additional mini vacation,” Reynolds said. “We get to do something we’ve never done before, which is be stuck on Friday the 13th, the massive outage across the country.” The couple considered driving home, but rental cars were unavailable, forcing them to stay an extra night. “The rooms were kind of hard to find as well, because it was about 9 o’clock last night,” Reynolds added.
Looking ahead
Duffy warned that it will take time for air travel to return to normal but expressed confidence that the disruption will not affect the upcoming Thanksgiving travel rush. He also cautioned that a similar problem could recur and urged Congress to allocate $50 billion for system upgrades. “Investments weren’t made, which is why we are here today,” Duffy said. “Let’s make the investments and look forward to a brighter future in aviation, a safer future, a more efficient future in aviation.”
Tips for travelers
Officials advise anyone heading to the airport this weekend to check airline apps before leaving, allow extra time for security and boarding, pack a charger, and bring spare clothing in case delays persist.
Original reporting: San Antonio, TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
