By admin 
Airports across California and the nation were still packed with stranded travelers on Saturday morning as flights resumed following an hours-long ground stop order at U.S. airports on Friday.
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Thousands of flights were delayed or canceled entirely after the Federal Aviation Administration issued the order Friday afternoon, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Federal officials said at a Friday night press briefing at the White House that antiquated radar and communications systems became overloaded, prompting the order to halt all flights on the ground.
The problem did not involve any cyber attack or other interference, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said at the briefing.
The FAA lifted the order several hours later, but Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said it would take some time to “unwind what’s happened.”
Mullin and Duffy said they expected air travel to begin returning to normal Saturday, but noted that larger flights with more passengers would be prioritized over smaller ones.
The FlightAware tracking site reported more than 3,700 flights delayed and more than 4,800 canceled Saturday in the United States. More than 15,000 were canceled Friday.
Duffy also predicted that some college football games and other sporting events may be affected, with some teams caught en route to scheduled games.
Photos and videos from airports across the United States showed stranded travelers sleeping on airport floors or standing in extraordinarily long lines to speak with airline personnel.
Duffy said the problem originated with the replacement of old copper wiring with fiber-optic communications at a key air traffic control center, causing the system to overload with information and begin reporting inconsistent data.
Authorities ordered the ground stop as a precaution. Mullin said no travelers were in danger because of the quick reaction. Duffy called on Congress to allocate more money for upgrades and said he could not guarantee there won’t be future problems with the system.
Sacramento International Airport appeared to be business as usual, perhaps a bit quieter than is typically seen for a Saturday morning.
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Remnants of Friday’s nationwide ground stop were still present throughout Terminal B, with delayed and cancelled banners still scattered across the departures and arrival boards.
Dozens of checked bags were still unclaimed at Southwest Airlines’ baggage services as uncertainty surrounding departing flights persisted.
Sabrina Lockhart, of West Sacramento, was optimistic that her 9 a.m. flight to Orlando would go forth as planned, after the ground stop was lifted Friday evening.
However, it wasn’t until she had checked her bag, made it through security screening and sat at her gate that her plans crumbled.
“I didn’t sleep well last night, just checking to make sure that my flight wasn’t canceled,” Lockhart said. “So it was a huge surprise to … get all the way to the gate, see my flight on the board, and then get a text message (that the flight was canceled) as I was sitting, waiting to board.”
Streams of passengers flowed down the double escalator into the Terminal B baggage claim, but like Lockhart, most of them had not just landed at the airport.
Bags from landed inbound flights and canceled outbound flights alike were loaded onto the carousels for their owners to retrieve.
Lockhart said Southwest service desks post-security were packed, with lines of 40 to 50 people each.
Still, the West Sacramento traveler managed to find an empty desk in a far end of the terminal and had a relatively smooth experience rebooking her flight.
“Luckily for that angel of a gate agent, I was able to rebook for tonight,” Lockhart said. “First and foremost, I want to fly safe. While it is incredibly inconvenient not to get where I want to go on time, it’s much better to arrive safely.”
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