‘A fiasco’: Exhaustion, frustration at Charlotte airport amid impacts from nationwide ground stop

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Numerous flyers through Charlotte-Douglas International Airport were trying to re-wrangle their travel plans Saturday morning after a night spent on hard floors and benches.

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nearly 5-hour nationwide ground stop after 8 p.m. Friday evening, only the second of its kind since the 9/11 attacks.

RELATED: US ground stop lifted after several hours, thousands of delayed flights

Federal officials warned that the impacts would take at least through the weekend to unravel, as travelers through the Charlotte American Airlines hub can attest.

WBTV spoke to dozens of passengers caught in the mess on Saturday morning, many of whom had spent the night at the airport as rental cars and hotel rooms got snatched up within minutes the evening before.

“I had to find a bench, bought a blanket because it was quite cold, and stayed here in the airport,” Christian Buzzi said.

Visiting the Charlotte area for training, Buzzi was trying to make it back home to Milan, Italy and was hopeful his rebooked flight would take off Saturday afternoon.

“We didn’t get much information [from American Airlines] to be honest, some more news or updates would have been helpful,” Buzzi said. “A bit more information could have helped a little bit, and support for the people who have been stuck here for hours.”

Some passengers that WBTV talked to shared nightmares of their luggage reaching their destination while they struggled to find another flight. One gentleman traveling from Madison, Wis. missed the funeral he had been flying for.

Another passenger flying Southwest Airlines said everything had been canceled for Saturday and their earliest option to make it to Nashville was Sunday afternoon.

“We even looked at a U-Haul truck going one way to Nashville, so we’re looking at all the different options: Amtrack, buses, rental cars,” traveler Dana shared.

Another group flying United Airlines to Munich for the Lions game on Sunday morning were dealing with the snowball effect of dealing with United Airlines, Lufthansa, and arrangements in Munich that now counted as no-shows -- meaning they wouldn’t get refunds.

“It’s just been a fiasco,” John Batts said. Neither did he appreciate the lack of information during the ground stop itself, with the FAA only sharing details once it was lifted.

“They could have come out and said ‘Hey, we’re working on it, we’re still working on it’, but they didn’t really say anything,” he said.

Questions about the underlying reasons for the ground stop are likely to continue through the coming days, with federal officials sharing only limited information Friday night.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy blamed failures on aging infrastructure.

“This is all the old legacy equipment. All of the new equipment that’s been deployed did not go down,” Duffy said.

In a statement overnight, American Airlines said they were prioritizing international flights and fights to non-hub airports.

A reply from the airline’s communications team to one frustrated customer on X (formerly Twitter) captured the spirit of the weekend well.

“It’s been a tough day, and we’re working hard to get things back on track. We appreciate everyone’s patience.”