Thousands of travelers faced severe disruptions at Sacramento International Airport on Saturday following a nationwide ground stop order issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Passengers encountered uncertainty regarding whether their flights would depart on time or connect properly. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a press conference on Saturday morning to address the nationwide action, CBS News reported.
“We shut down the airspace and we do it safely,” Duffy told reporters during the press conference.
The transportation secretary explained that aviation officials grounded flights to isolate network issues before reopening the airspace. While operations resumed, ripple effects left many travelers scrambling for alternative transportation methods across the region.
Car rental agencies near the airport experienced a surge in demand as stranded passengers opted to drive rather than wait for delayed itineraries. Javier Guillen chose to secure a rental vehicle after his flight faced cancellation.
“Either way, I was going to rent a car, but already be in Santa Rosa. So, all right, so I’m going to enjoy a two-hour drive to Santa Rosa now, getting to know the area,” Guillen told CBS News.
Other passengers narrowly avoided the gridlock entirely. Anthony Canales and members of a basketball team traveling back to Washington finished a tournament at Chico State just before the disruption escalated.
“We were playing a basketball tournament over at Chico State, and we got really nervous,” Canales told CBS News, noting that a cancellation would have triggered a 12-hour drive back to Bellingham.
Federal regulations mandate that airlines provide a full refund to passengers whose flights are cancelled, regardless of the ticket type purchased. Alternatively, travelers can request a penalty-free rebooking for a different flight.
For domestic delays exceeding three hours, passengers qualify for a direct refund through the airline. However, travelers who choose to wait out a delay forfeit their eligibility for compensation under current Department of Transportation guidelines.
Travelers dealing with flight cancellations are guaranteed a full refund or a penalty-free rebooking from their airline. If a domestic flight encounters a delay exceeding three hours, customers also become eligible for a refund.
Airlines and airports continue working to recover from the nationwide ground stop, with hundreds of additional flight cancellations and numerous delays scheduled for the following day.
“I didn’t see a lot of people pissed off. It was like, okay, let’s just kind of go with the flow,” Guillen told CBS News.
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