The Federal Aviation Administration grounded nearly all flights in the U.S. this afternoon, citing communication issues. The Bozeman Yellowstone and Missoula International airports posted announcements on their websites that stated in part, “All departing flights should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis by the FAA.”
The ground stop disrupted thousands of departing flights causing headaches for passengers, including Vanessa Roy from Montana. She now lives in Washington D.C. and was supposed to fly from there tonight to attend her cousin’s wedding in Missoula.
The plane had just begun boarding when the stoppage took effect.
"The announcements every 15, 20 minutes were essentially that there were no announcements from FAA yet," Roy said. "We ultimately kind of got the hint that no one was going anywhere when they started talking about getting bags off of, off of planes."
She was stuck in a crowd trying to leave the airport, heading back home in D.C.
“It is what it is, as long as everyone gets home safe,” Roy said.
She’s still holding out hope to make it to the wedding, and rebooked a 6 a.m. flight.
It’s unclear when the grounding will be lifted. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said there is no reason to believe this was a threat to the U.S.
