The disruption stranded thousands of passengers, many of whom stayed at airports awaiting the resumption of flights. (AFP pic)WASHINGTON: The head of the FAA predicted that US air travel would not return to normal schedules until late Sunday as the aviation system gradually recovers from a nationwide flight shutdown that officials blamed on routine maintenance gone awry.
As of 4:15 pm ET, airlines on Saturday had cancelled more than 5,300 US flights and delayed almost 6,300, according to FlightAware, an aviation website. That followed about 9,200 flights cancelled and 7,500 delayed on Friday after the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop because of disruptions to air traffic communications.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) head Bryan Bedford said on Saturday that he expected airline operations to largely return to normal by late Sunday. He also apologized for the disruption, adding that the system remains stable.
