FAA ground delay programs trigger 700+ delays

The Federal Aviation Administration’s traffic command center flagged possible ground stop and ground delay programs across several major airports on May 23 as thunderstorms and staffing limits strained the U.S. airspace system. An FAA operations plan advisory issued Saturday night listed possible terminal initiatives for Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando and Tampa, and cited a staffing trigger at L30 TRACON alongside convective weather across multiple regions. Travel And Tour World said the disruptions contributed to more than 700 delays and cancellations across hubs including Atlanta, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. The FAA’s own public dashboard separately showed a departure delay at JFK on May 23, with average waits of 15 minutes and increasing because of traffic-management initiatives. ### What did the FAA actually put in place on May 23? The FAA’s May 23 Current Operations Plan Advisory said “ATL GROUND STOP/DELAY PROGRAM POSSIBLE” until 0200, along with possible ground stops for Charlotte and Orlando/Tampa. (fly.faa.gov) The same advisory said Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport had an active ground stop and ground delay program tied to runway configuration and possible thunderstorm impacts. The advisory also said the Northeast Severe Weather Avoidance Plan remained in effect until 0200z, though John F. (nasstatus.faa.gov) Kennedy and LaGuardia had been removed from possible terminal initiatives later in the evening as the forecast no longer showed significant thunderstorm impacts to departure gates in New York. ### What were the FAA’s stated causes? The FAA advisory on May 23 listed “STAFFING TRIGGER(S): UNTIL 0700 -L30 TRACON.” The same document listed terminal constraints including convective weather at Charlotte, Tampa, Dallas-Fort Worth, Dallas Love Field, Houston Bush and Houston Hobby, and low ceilings at Washington Reagan, Memphis, Seattle and San Francisco. (fly.faa.gov) The FAA also listed en route constraints across a wide span of air traffic centers because of thunderstorms, using the shorthand “TSTMS” for affected regions including ZNY, ZJX, ZMA, ZTL, ZME, ZFW and others. (fly.faa.gov) The public NAS dashboard for May 24 continued to show forecast risks for additional ground stop or delay programs later Sunday at airports including JFK, Newark, Boston, Washington-area airports, Charlotte, Denver and Atlanta. ### What is a ground delay program for passengers? (fly.faa.gov) The National Business Aviation Association says a ground delay program delays aircraft at their departure airport to match demand with reduced arrival capacity at the destination airport. NBAA said flights are assigned expect departure clearance times, or EDCTs, so traffic managers can keep arrival demand at a manageable level when thunderstorms, low ceilings or other constraints reduce airport capacity. (fly.faa.gov) That means passengers can see a flight remain at the gate or post a later departure even when the aircraft itself is ready, because the delay is designed to meter traffic into the arrival airport rather than create airborne holding. NBAA said the programs are also used in support of the Severe Weather Avoidance Plan. ### Which airports were showing delays? JFK was listed on the FAA dashboard on May 23 with an average departure delay of 15 minutes and increasing because of traffic-management initiatives. (nbaa.org) By early May 24 on the FAA dashboard, JFK was still showing an active departure delay, with the average at 30 minutes and decreasing, while Miami was also showing a 30-minute average departure delay tied to traffic-management initiatives and weather. Atlanta appeared in the FAA forecast list both late Saturday and again early Sunday as a location where a ground stop or delay program was possible. (nbaa.org) The FAA dashboard said Sunday forecast events also included possible initiatives for San Francisco, Boston, Washington-area airports, Newark, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Denver. ### Where should travelers check next? The FAA’s National Airspace System dashboard publishes active airport events, forecast events and links to advisories, airport demand and EDCT information. (nasstatus.faa.gov) The FAA’s fly.faa.gov advisory page also posts the current operations plan used by the Air Traffic Control System Command Center. May 24’s FAA dashboard already showed new forecast windows later Sunday for possible ground stop or delay programs at JFK after 1700, Newark after 1700, Charlotte after 1800, Denver after 1900 and Atlanta after 1900. (nasstatus.faa.gov 1) (nasstatus.faa.gov 2)