Make California Post a Preferred Source The travel chaos triggered by Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stop continued to wreak havoc at California airports Sunday, with passengers facing cancellations, delays and missing luggage.
LAX recorded 46 delays and 21 cancellations as of Sunday morning, while San Francisco International Airport reported 14 delays and eight cancellations, according to flight-tracking data.
The latest disruptions follow a nationwide FAA ground stop on Friday — only the second of its kind since 9/11 — that forced more than 3,500 aircraft to land, stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers and triggered thousands of flight cancellations and delays across the country.
Mountains of abandoned suitcases and unclaimed luggage have piled up at LAX and airports across the country, as thousands of travelers remain separated from their bags.
Although the ground stop was lifted, airlines have been scrambling to reposition aircraft and crews, leaving travelers dealing with the lingering fallout throughout the weekend.
At SFO, some passengers were still hunting for lost luggage and trying to piece together trips that had been derailed by canceled connecting flights.
Sebastian Alvarez finally made it back to the Bay Area after traveling home from Colombia, but his journey took an unexpected detour when his connecting flight from Miami to San Francisco was canceled.
He managed to secure another flight but was left unsure whether his four bags had made the trip with him. Among the missing belongings were his wife’s wedding dress and his wedding suit.
“It is kind of stressful, anxiety-inducing for sure,” Alvarez told KRON4.
The newlyweds were left searching through piles of luggage scattered around the airport’s baggage claim area in hopes of recovering their belongings.
“So, we’ve got to fish them out somewhere in this sea of bags and hopefully they’re here. If not, they gave us a claim and they told us we’re not going to be compensated for anything because it’s a national emergency and not American Airlines’ fault,” he said.
Another passenger, Brad Jurgens, managed to recover his luggage but was still struggling to get home after traveling from London.
His connecting flight to Arizona was canceled after he arrived amid the disruption, forcing him to book a hotel and try again the following day.
“From there, all the flights started getting canceled, so I just got a hotel and started over today. The first, I think, three flights were canceled, and now four. I think I’m on my fifth flight now. Fingers crossed I can get home,” Jurgens told the outlet.
Despite the headaches, he said passengers needed to remain understanding of airport and airline employees working through the chaos.
“You’ve got to roll with the punches. The workers are stressed, and it’s not their fault. They are dealing with the situation the best they can. It is what it is,” he said.
The disruption also threw a birthday vacation into disarray for 10-year-old DJ Holmes of San Jose, whose family had planned to sail on a cruise to Mexico and the Bahamas.
Instead, the family found themselves spending the night at SFO after their travel plans were derailed, ABC7 reported.
Long lines snaked through the airport as stranded passengers attempted to rebook flights and find alternative routes.
Gabriel Oliveira, who was trying to return home to Brazil, described the experience as both “frustrating” and “exhausting,” telling ABC7 he had gone to the airport in person after struggling to get assistance over the phone.
“They’re telling you to call, but the waiting time is one to two hours,” he said.
Other travelers resorted to sleeping on terminal floors while waiting for flights. Tourist Fernanda Deixeira said she planned to book a hotel for the night before returning Sunday to try again.
Not all passengers saw their plans completely unravel. San Francisco 49ers fan Renee Rodriguez managed to secure a new flight to Dallas in time for Sunday’s matchup against the Cowboys.
“It’s all about the Niners,” Rodriguez joked. “Either way, I’m supposed to get to Dallas by midnight, so I can still be at the game. Bang Bang Niner Gang!”
The latest California airport disruptions come as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted Sunday that the nationwide travel fallout should largely be resolved by Monday at the latest.
Duffy said airlines were working to restore normal operations and expected flights to be running at full capacity by the end of Sunday or Monday.
The reason for the halt was cited as communications outage in air traffic control systems was traced to a faulty router during a copper‑to‑fiber upgrade.
“As we look to the end of the day and into tomorrow, we should be running at full capacity,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Airport officials have urged passengers to check directly with their airlines for updated flight information before heading to the airport and to allow extra time for travel.
