How the FAA’s system outage impacted Tucson travelers

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Hundreds of fliers use Tucson International Airport each day to get to and from their destinations.

However, on Wednesday, many arriving to the Old Pueblo were pushed back due to the national pause on all flights.

Austin Wright, Chief Communications Officer at Tucson International Airport says travelers can expect a few delays into Wednesday evening.

“W are routinely preparing for any kind of situation and today was no different,” Wright said.

A.J. Wiselman and her niece were hoping to be in Tucson bright and early, taking a flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

“I think because I’m traveling with a 5-year-old,” Wiselman said. “It was a little more urgent then it would typically be.”

But that hope slowly faded away when they found out about delays they would face.

“Our flight was delayed about an hour and a half and I think we sat on the plane for another hour while they were waiting for the captain to come,” Wiselman said. “We are very excited to be here.”

Wiselman says she didn’t arrive to Tucson International until 2 o’clock Wednesday afternoon.

According to Tucson International, passengers have seen delays both in and outbound, since airlines across the country saw a 90-minute push back.

But their goal is to make sure travelers get in the sky without any hassles.

“We were certainly in communication with our stakeholders and airport team and we’re prepared to respond in any way we could,” Wright tells KOLD New 13.

Officials at Tucson International recommend people taking on the high skies to check in with their airlines throughout Wednesday just to make sure, they aren’t delayed

“We saw the ripple effect this morning in a sense that all flights were delay and we are seeing it go throughout the day,” Wright said. “Although that ground stops obviously if you have a flight later in the evening it could still be delayed.”

As for future delays and cancellations, TIA says travelers should expect operations to go back to normal on Thursday.

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