‘That’s our job, right?’: JIA official describes complex job of getting passengers back in the air

Millions of air travelers across the country continue to feel the effects of a nationwide ground stop ordered Friday afternoon, but progress is being made.

The shutdown marks only the second full ground stop of the U.S. national airspace system since Sept. 11, 2001. More than 25,000 flight delays were reported nationwide on Friday as the disruption halted air traffic.

Jacksonville International Airport reported another 36 flight cancellations on Saturday. As of 9 p.m., another 24 flights were still being delayed

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the ground stop was triggered by a major telecommunication failure within the national air traffic control system.

Switches and routers in the aging network became overloaded with data, forcing officials to shut the system down.

During the stoppage, a Federal Aviation Administration official declared, “This is a national emergency.”

The sudden shutdown caused immediate operational disruptions among air traffic control, flight personnel and airport staff.

Gate agents were forced to halt boarding and departures, telling waiting passengers, “We are stopping and all flights are delayed.”

At Jacksonville International Airport, officials reported a total of 83 canceled flights between arrivals and departures on Friday.

Greg Willis, marketing and public relations manager for Jacksonville International Airport, said recovering from a full airspace shutdown requires extensive logistical work across multiple organizations.

“When an incident like this occurs, it’s really all about coordination and communication,” said Willis, who said resuming normal operations takes time.

“If the national airspace system shuts down, it’s going to take a minute to kind of spin it back up.”

Extensive, behind-the-scenes communication was required to keep airport operations moving after the shutdown ended.

“It’s a lot of conference calls. It’s talking to the airlines, finding out once the ground stop is lifted, okay, which airlines are going to be flying?” Willis said.

Staff had to coordinate continuously with airport security, asking, “TSA, are you going to remain open and how late are you gonna remain open?”

Throughout the recovery efforts, airport officials kept displaced passengers at the forefront of their operations.

“That’s our job, right? It’s far more stressful to be a displaced passenger right now,” Willis said. “This is trying to get home. We’re trying to see family.”

Willis encouraged travelers to contact their respective airlines directly to verify flight statuses and advised passengers to “do whatever you can to mitigate your stress.”

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.