Philadelphia Int'l Airport passengers navigate delays and cancellations after nationwide ground stop

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Travelers at Philadelphia International Airport faced ongoing disruptions Saturday morning, one day after a nationwide ground stop that lasted about four and a half hours.

The airport had reported more than 100 cancellations and dozens of delays, with the numbers climbing throughout the morning. The airport is telling travelers to check with their airlines for the latest information.

Many travelers arriving at the airport said they were feeling the effects of the disruptions.

"I'm exhausted. This one is going to be fine. It's smooth. I got my boarding pass, checked my bags, which is as far as I've gotten so far," Roxanne Garcia said.

The nationwide ground stop was issued after the air traffic control system experienced a major communication issue when routers became overloaded with data.

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Some travelers were still trying to recover from canceled and delayed flights.

"This is my third flight. I'm trying to get to my friend's birthday. I was going to go to Ontario because he's in California. Too many delays and whatnot," Ivan said.

While some passengers were arriving for previously scheduled Saturday flights, others were dealing with delays that began before the ground stop was announced.

"We were on the plane after a delay of three or four hours. We were ready to take off, on the runway. Usually you go down the runway and take off. We went down the runway and turned right. I've never had that happen before," James Fisk said with a chuckle.

Fisk said he spent enough time waiting on the runway to watch an entire movie before the nationwide ground stop was issued.

"When we got back to the terminal, I said, I'm not flying on Friday the 13th anymore! That's it!' I already checked the next one is August, and I'm not going anywhere!" Fisk said.

Travelers should expect ongoing disruptions through the weekend and potentially into early next week.