Eight flights grounded at Sangster International Airport amid US airspace disruption

WESTERN BUREAU: Eight flights scheduled to depart Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on Friday have been grounded following a disruption to United States airspace, leaving passengers facing uncertainty over their travel arrangements.

Sharon Hislop-Holt, manager of commercial business development and marketing at MBJ Airports Limited, confirmed the disruption, saying airport officials were awaiting further developments to determine what would happen to passengers already at the facility.

"We await further developments to determine how we will treat with the passengers now in the airport waiting to depart," Hislop-Holt told The Gleaner.

The affected flights involve JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

According to information provided by the airport, seven of the affected flights were scheduled to depart between 3:05 pm and 6:00 pm, with destinations including New York, Baltimore, Orlando, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale and Atlanta.

An eighth flight, operated by American Airlines, was scheduled to arrive from Dallas/Fort Worth at 5:09 pm before departing for Miami at 6:09 pm.

The disruption has raised questions about arrangements for affected travellers, including whether flights will resume later in the evening or passengers will have to make alternative plans.

The airport has not yet indicated when normal operations are expected to resume.

The disruption in Montego Bay comes amid widespread aviation chaos across the United States, where more than 8,000 flights have been delayed or cancelled following a nationwide shutdown of departures.

Figures from flight-tracking service FlightAware showed 7,884 delays and 371 cancellations involving flights within, into or out of the United States by late Friday afternoon.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the unprecedented ground stop at 3:54 pm after communications failures affected the country's 22 regional air traffic control centres.

The shutdown is the first nationwide suspension of departures since January 2023, when a computer malfunction temporarily paralysed US air travel.

- Janet Silvera

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