Did flights resume after FAA ground stop? Here's what to know if you are travelling with American, Delta, United and JetBlue

Flights across the United States have resumed after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its nationwide ground stop on Friday night. However, the return to normal operations has been slow, with thousands of passengers still facing cancellations, delays and missed connections.

The ground stop lasted more than four hours and affected departing flights across the country. Although the FAA has reopened the airspace, airlines are still working to get their aircraft and crews back into position.

For passengers travelling with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and JetBlue, the disruption may not be over yet. Each carrier has announced changes or travel waivers to help affected customers. The inputs are taken from several outlets-CNN, BBC, CBS News and Reuters.

Have flights resumed across the US?

The FAA lifted the nationwide ground stop at 8:15 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, November 13, after issuing the order at 3:54 p.m. The halt followed a telecommunications outage that affected all 22 air route traffic control centres.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed ageing air traffic control equipment and overloaded routers for the problem.

“Our switches, our routers actually got overloaded with data and they started to give us inconsistencies in the data from those routers,” he said. “And because of that we shut the system down.”

Duffy said the immediate problem had been fixed and flying was safe. However, he warned that getting operations back to normal would take time.

The FAA also said it had thoroughly tested its systems before allowing flights to resume. The impact was still visible on Saturday. According to FlightAware, more than 3,000 US flights had been cancelled and close to 1,000 delayed by early Saturday morning. Those figures came on top of roughly 9,000 cancellations and more than 7,000 delays reported on Friday.

At Chicago Midway International Airport, more than 170 flights were delayed at one point, with some passengers facing waits of nearly 90 minutes. Travellers also reported long waits for checked luggage.

What should American Airlines passengers know?

American Airlines said it was prioritising international flights and services to smaller cities outside its major hubs. The move was aimed at getting aircraft and crews into position for a faster recovery, reported euters.

Customers with flights scheduled to, from or through selected US cities on November 13 and 14 can rebook without fees for travel by November 17. The waiver applies to specific cities, with further details available through the airline.

What are Delta and United offering?

Delta Air Lines was among the carriers dealing with a large number of cancellations on Saturday. FlightAware listed 640 Delta cancellations as of Saturday morning.

Delta customers with flights scheduled for November 13 and 14 can cancel their bookings for flight credit or rebook without additional charges for travel before November 21.

United Airlines also reported significant disruption, with 530 cancellations listed during the same period. Passengers booked with United for November 13 and 14 can cancel for a full refund or rebook without fees for travel by November 20, as per a report by USA TODAY.

What is happening with JetBlue flights?

JetBlue cancelled most of its remaining flights scheduled for Friday night shortly before the FAA lifted the ground stop.

“Due to the nationwide FAA mandated ground stop, JetBlue is canceling all remaining flights this evening with the exception of Europe-bound departures from JFK and Boston,” the airline said in a statement.

“Flights already in the air are continuing to their destinations.”

The airline also warned, “We expect disruptions to continue into tomorrow, including additional cancellations.”

JetBlue customers booked for November 13 can use the airline's fee waiver to change their travel dates for flights by November 18. Passengers whose flights were cancelled can also request refunds if they decide not to travel, as per New York Post.

Recovery could take several days

The FAA ground stop may be over, but its effects are still being felt at airports. Officials have warned that delays and cancellations could continue through the weekend, while airlines work to reposition aircraft and crews.

The disruption has also affected some flights departing from major European airports, including Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt and Amsterdam Schiphol. The UK's Department for Transport has advised people travelling to the US to check with their airline before leaving for the airport.

Officials hope operations will return to normal by Thanksgiving, but passengers should check their flight status and airline updates before travelling.