Arabic version: أستراليون عالقون بعد انقطاع في حركة الطيران الأميركية

According to ABC News, a major communications outage affecting US air traffic control centres forced aviation authorities to ground flights nationwide, disrupting more than 11,000 flights and leaving Australian travellers stranded. The Federal Aviation Administration later lifted the ground stop, but airlines warned that clearing the backlog could take time.

The disruption affected passengers at airports including New York’s JFK, Los Angeles International Airport and San Diego. Sydney Airport said flights to the United States would resume from Mascot after being temporarily grounded on Saturday morning, while advising passengers to contact their airlines.

Adelaide traveller Trish Crabb and her husband were due to fly from JFK Airport in New York to Miami when their Delta flight was cancelled. Ms Crabb said there were at least 200 people ahead of her in the line for the Delta flight. The couple had planned to drive from Miami to Fort Lauderdale to join a cruise, and her husband was trying to find accommodation nearby.

Rivkah Brown, from Myrtleford in Victoria, was stranded at San Diego Airport after a Delta flight to Las Vegas was cancelled. She had just disembarked from a cruise and was due to meet her fiancé in Las Vegas. Ms Brown said she would instead take a bus for a journey of almost 10 hours.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the problem affected all Air Route Traffic Control Centres, while technicians investigated the cause. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said preliminary inquiries pointed to a telecommunications outage and there was no immediate indication of a deliberate attack. Australian travellers due to fly within 72 hours are being urged to contact their airline or travel agent, while others are advised to check airline websites or apps for updates.