Why grounded flights are causing upheavals at Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Florida airports

More flight delays occurred Tuesday at Florida airports, as afternoon thunderstorms and flights getting backed up led the Federal Aviation Administration to ground some planes heading to Orlando and Palm Beach and cause delays at Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports.

The ground stop by the FAA — an order meaning flights cannot land at a certain airport — affected flights from Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and other parts of Florida to Palm Beach International (PBI) until at least 4:30 p.m., and then was extended to 5:30 p.m.

Also affected were flights arriving at Orlando International Airport (MCO) from various parts of the country, including Georgia, New York, Texas, Washington, D.C., and other parts of Florida, according to the FAA. The ground stop at Orlando’s airport was until 4:30 p.m. and was the second one of the day, with flights delayed at least 15 minutes, on average.

By late Tuesday afternoon, flights departing from MIA were delayed, on average, 60 minutes (and increasing), and flights departing from FLL were delayed, on average, 30 minutes (and increasing) due to traffic management issues at the airport, according to an FAA posting at 5: 16 p.m.

Planes at MIA and FLL were kept away or grounded for nearly four hours Monday night because of thunderstorms, causing hundreds of flights to be canceled and passengers stranded in the terminals. The majority of flights did not start arriving at the two airports Monday until after 11 p.m.

At MIA, 174 flights were canceled within the last 24 hours, according to a Tuesday afternoon posting by flightaware.com, which tracks arrivals and departures at airports. At FLL, 40 flights were canceled within the last 24 hours, the website said.

On Tuesday evening, the FAA issued a statement, explaining why it grounds planes: “Air traffic controllers have a wide range of tools to address weather issues. These tools include ground stops, which keep aircraft on the ground when air traffic control is unable to safely accommodate additional aircraft in the system, ground delays, in which aircraft are delayed at their departure airport in order to manage demand and capacity at their arrival airport, and Severe Weather Avoidance Plans, which minimize the impact of a large scale storm by easing traffic demand in portions of airspace impacted by the storm. “

.”... Weather is the leading cause of delays.”

The agency did not answer specific questions from the Herald about the Florida delays and groundings.

READ MORE: Flights start arriving and departing at Miami, Fort Lauderdale airports but expect delays

How the delays affected passengers

Derek Fine, 56, has been trying to get to London for two days. He had a flight from Baltimore, where he lives, to London, on Sunday night but it was canceled. He was rerouted to MIA for a London flight on Monday night, but it was delayed to 2 a.m. on Wednesday. Fine said British Airways said it was because of weather and crew timeouts.

“I’m not going to get to London until Wednesday afternoon. I was supposed to get there Monday morning,” said Fine.

Hannah Van Buskirk’s flight from Washington, D.C., to MIA on Monday night was also delayed for four and a half hours before it was eventually canceled. American Airlines gave the 26 year old two options for Tuesday: Arrive at MIA but lay over in Cincinnati and land in Miami at 9:30 p.m. or take a morning flight directly to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Van Buskirk’s friends were already in Miami for their summer vacation so she chose to fly into Fort Lauderdale.

For other passengers, like solo traveler Erica Barrueta, 65, the delays and cancellations caused a domino effect of missed flights.

Barrueta flew into Fort Lauderdale from Charlotte Tuesday morning after her American Airlines flight was canceled Monday night when there was no pilot to fly the plane. She said the airline paid for a hotel and taxi for the night in Charlotte.

Barrueta told the American Airlines employees that her connecting flight to Panama was on Copa Airlines, and she said that American Airlines employees told her not to worry — they’d take responsibility for getting her to her next flight. Copa is the Panamanian carrier.

But they didn’t, saying they have nothing to do with Copa, she said.

“It was a huge irresponsibility by American Airlines,” she said in Spanish.

She called her son and texted her granddaughter to figure out how to get to Kendall, where her son lives.

In a statement Tuesday, American Airlines noted the delays: “Yesterday, our operations in South Florida were impacted by severe weather, resulting in a number of cancelations and delays. We apologize to our customers whose travel plans were disrupted, but safety is our top priority.”

Here’s what else to know if your flight was delayed or canceled:

READ NEXT: Is your Miami or Fort Lauderdale flight delayed or canceled? Here’s how to check

What is a ground stop?

A ground stop means incoming flights will not be able to land at these airports and will either be rerouted, delayed or canceled until the FAA lifts the stop. Ground stops can also cause delays or cancellations for flights that are yet to depart. The FAA can issue ground stops for a variety of reasons, such as bad weather.

Passengers should check with their airline for any updates on possible delays or cancellations.

What happens if a flight crew times out?

The FAA limits how many hours pilots can fly consecutively and generally requires eight to 10 hours of rest for flight crews depending on whether there is one or two pilots on board, respectively. (The FAA requires two pilots at all times for most planes)

It’s worth noting that in 2022, the FAA made a new rule requiring 10 hours of rest between flight attendant shifts, the same as pilots. Previously, the FAA required nine hours of rest between flight attendant shifts.

If a flight crew times out, the airline will either reschedule the flight or call in other crew members who are on standby to take over the flight. This can sometimes lead to flight delays.

How to check your flight

Besides using MIA and FLL’s flight trackers at flightaware.com, you can also check your flight directly with your airline. Here’s where to go for some of the more popular airlines in South Florida:

▪ American Airlines or download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Delta or download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ United Airlines or download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Southwest Airlines or download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ JetBlue or download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Frontier Airlines or download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Spirit Airlines or download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

This article will be updated.