Copenhagen Airport reported only minimal delays after the nationwide flight ban in the United States, with some SAS arrivals from the US running 20 minutes to two hours late.
The nationwide departure ban at US airports, which was lifted overnight into Saturday Danish time, has not created major problems for air traffic at Copenhagen Airport. That was stated Saturday by airport press officer Jesper Øbo, in a Ritzau report published by Kristeligt Dagblad. Per Øbo, there were minimal delays on arrivals from the US, and nothing else.
Øbo said individual SAS aircraft were delayed by between 20 minutes and two hours. He also said the US ban will not affect air traffic at the airport in the coming days. The same account was carried by TV2.
What happened in the United States
The US aviation authority, the FAA, imposed a ground stop for all aircraft in the US on Friday afternoon local time because of communication problems. According to ABC News, the order took effect at 3:54 p.m. Eastern time and cited extraordinary circumstances and reasons of safety. No aircraft were allowed to depart from US soil.
Ritzau reports the ban was lifted just over four hours later. CBS News puts the duration at about five hours. As stated by the FAA, its systems were thoroughly tested to confirm they were stable before flights were cleared again.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the episode was not caused by malicious actors, according to Ritzau. He pointed instead to a failure in outdated network technology in the radar and communication system used for air traffic control. ABC News reports that Duffy blamed old technology that became overloaded.
Thousands of cancellations and a European pause
Disruption in US air traffic continued after the ban was lifted. Reuters, as relayed by Ritzau, reports that up to 10,000 departures have been cancelled and that traffic may be affected for several days. Duffy said tens of thousands of travellers are stranded in US airports.
Ritzau notes this is only the third time this century that the FAA has imposed a nationwide flight ban. Al Jazeera describes it as the longest ground stop in 25 years and the second nationwide stop since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The effects reached European airports as well. DR reports that Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic in Europe, paused departures to the US from its 42 member states, including Denmark, until 6 a.m. Saturday Danish time.
What the US flight disruption means for internationals with US travel plans
For residents of Denmark holding tickets to the US, the practical question is the status of individual flights rather than the airport as a whole. DR reports that the airport advised passengers to check with their airlines. Øbo said no further impact on Copenhagen is expected in the coming days.
On compensation, Reuters, as relayed by Ritzau, reports that stranded travellers have no claim for compensation from the US airlines. The reason given is that the carriers were not responsible for the faults that led to the flight ban. Rebooking and cancellation questions therefore go to the airline that issued the ticket, including for internationals who moved to Denmark from the USA and travel back regularly.
Neither Copenhagen Airport nor the outlets cited have published figures on how many passengers departing from Denmark were affected by the Eurocontrol pause. What is known from DR is that the pause on US-bound departures from Denmark ran only until Saturday morning Danish time. Travellers checking schedules from abroad should note that Denmark is in the Central European time zone, which is six hours ahead of US Eastern time, per the FAA timestamp reported by ABC News.
