- The FAA issued a ground stop at Nashville International Airport on Friday
- Flights were grounded after a communication issue in Memphis
- TSA predicted that Friday will be the busiest day for air travel over the weekend
A ground stop had to be issued at Nashville International Airport after a loss of communication in Memphis caused travel disruption on Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration had issued the ground stop on Friday morning due to a communication breakdown at the Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center.
It was originally issued just before 10AM central time before expiring an hour later, as millions take to the skies for Memorial Day Weekend.
TSA predicted that Friday will be the busiest day for air travel over the weekend, with nearly 3 million people expected to pass through airport checkpoints.
FlightAware recorded just over 700 delayed flights across the US on Friday afternoon with four being cancelled.
On Thursday, the TSA screened just under 2.9 million people, coming within about 11,000 of breaking the record set on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year.
Memphis International Airport officials said they would be bracing for a considerable increase in the amount of Memorial Day weekend travelers.
Officials at the airport told Fox that they projected to see over 55,000 people pass through their checkpoints, which would be a 6 percent increase on last year.
The amount that passed through the airport last Memorial Day Weekend was its busiest in 15 years.
Those travelling in Iowa and Illinois could face further disruption after the National Weather Service (NWS) warned of severe thunderstorms that could impact travel.
The NWS said that storms are expected to bring ‘very large hail, hurricane-force gusts, and strong tornadoes.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport had already seen over 100 delays on Friday, according to FlightAware.
On Thursday, New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and John F Kennedy International had almost 700 delays and 90 cancellations.
AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said: ‘Airports are going to be more packed than we have seen in 20 years.’
Highways also are likely to be jammed the next few days as motorists head out of town and then return home.
AAA predicted this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8 million people expected to roam at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and Monday – with 38 million of them taking vehicles.
The California Highway Patrol has already said they will be deploying ‘maximum enforcement’ throughout the state as it readies itself for ‘traffic chaos’.
Spokesperson Art Montiel told SFGATE that officers will be looking for impaired drivers and warned drivers should prepare for severe traffic throughout the weekend.
He told the outlet: ‘It’s not raining, it’s beautiful weather, so people are gonna want to get out and have fun with family and friend. Definitely plan ahead. Plan for the worst.’
The weekend’s highway traffic and crowded airports could be a sample of what is to come. U.S. airlines expect to carry a record number of passengers this summer.
Their trade group estimates that 271 million travelers will fly between June 1 and August 31, breaking the record of 255 million set – you guessed it – last summer.
Airport unions are using the holiday weekend to highlight their demands.
About 100 workers who clean airplane cabins and drive trash trucks at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, started a 24-hour strike Thursday, demanding better pay and healthcare, according to the Service Employees International Union.
About 15% of flights were delayed, but it was unclear whether the strike played any role.
A planned strike at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York was averted, however. Teamsters Local 553, which represents about 300 workers who refuel passenger and cargo jets at JFK, said that it reached a settlement with Allied Aviation Services and called off a walkout planned for Friday.
‘We are happy an agreement has been reached, a need for a strike averted, and we are hopeful that the deal will be ratified by our members,’ said Demos Demopoulos, the secretary-treasurer of the local.
More than 8,700 flights were delayed Thursday, with the biggest backups in the New York City area; Charlotte, North Carolina; Boston; and at Dallas-Fort Worth International and Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.