Andrea Perez-Sobers
Senior Reporter
andrea.perez-sobers
@guardian.co.tt
Passengers stranded at Piarco International Airport faced another day of uncertainty yesterday as airlines worked to recover from a major telecommunications failure within the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) air traffic control system that disrupted flights in the US and all across the region.
Long lines formed at the Piarco airport, particularly at the American Airlines counter, as passengers waited to rebook flights, confirm new departure times and make alternative travel arrangements. Some spent the night with relatives or friends, while others had nowhere to go.
Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Eli Zakour confirmed that the disruption affected flights travelling from Trinidad and the Eastern Caribbean to North America, as well as inbound flights from North America.
Zakour noted that the ministry monitored the situation throughout, while assuring the travelling public that air traffic within the Piarco Flight Information Region continued to be managed safely and efficiently.
“At 9.44 pm on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Command Centre contacted the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) and advised that operations could resume,” he said.
However, operations did not immediately get back on track, as airlines had to reposition aircraft and crews after widespread delays and cancellations.
One American Airlines passenger, Solomon Luke, told Guardian Media at Piarco International Airport yesterday that he was scheduled to leave Trinidad at 4.42 pm on Friday for Miami before connecting to Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
After an initial delay until 5 pm, passengers boarded the aircraft, only to be instructed to disembark.
His departure was subsequently rescheduled for 1 pm yesterday.
Luke was able to spend the night with his uncle, who lives near the airport.
Another American Airlines passenger, Jacqueline Strachan, 72, from Detroit, was less fortunate. She had nowhere to stay after her flight to Miami was repeatedly postponed.
Strachan spent the night at the airport, describing herself as cold, exhausted and frustrated.
She had been scheduled to leave at 4.42 pm on Friday. After several changes, the departure time was pushed to 7.15 pm, then moved again.
“The hardest thing for me was that I’m not from Trinidad. And I was three and a half hours away. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to stay,” she explained.
Strachan also faced the loss of a hotel booking in Miami and uncertainty over whether she would make her connecting flight to Detroit.
Wendy Thomas, who was travelling to the US Virgin Islands, described her disappointment after being forced to leave the aircraft following lengthy delays. She faced additional travel arrangements, including having to recheck her luggage in Florida, and had to seek financial help from her sister to get back home. She spent the night with a friend while awaiting a rescheduled 1 pm departure.
Meanwhile, Kenneth and Vashti Singh, who were travelling to Guyana on Caribbean Airlines, faced a new departure time of 7.30 pm yesterday.
The couple expressed frustration over the repeated changes and questioned why passengers had not received earlier notification before leaving home for the airport.
A retired Director General of Civil Aviation at the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority explained that the disruption originated from communication and surveillance problems affecting the US air traffic control system.
He explained that 17 of the 22 US air route traffic control centres experienced communication difficulties, forcing authorities to restrict operations in the interest of safety.
The resulting backlog led to cancellations, with some flights unable to operate because crews exceeded their permitted duty hours.
He maintained that airlines were working with limited information and did their best to manage the situation.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday he was “working on” a plan for Congress to pass funding to revamp the nation’s aviation systems, but he left unclear exactly how that spending would pass.
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