ATLANTA - Hundreds of travelers are facing major delays and cancellations at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Sunday, just two days after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop.
What we know:
FlightAware tracking data shows 644 flights in and out of the Atlanta airport are delayed as of 4:22 p.m. Sunday, while about 134 flights have been canceled.
Delta Air Lines accounts for 461 of those delayed flights.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency issued Friday's nationwide ground stop out of an abundance of caution.
Preliminary findings point to routine maintenance by contractor L3Harris at a remote FAA facility, according to Duffy.
Crews were replacing aging copper telecommunications lines with fiber when a router began flooding the network with more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds, Duffy said.
The surge disrupted aircraft communications and some radar feeds.
Delta flexible rebooking options
What you can do:
Delta announced Sunday it is extending flexible rebooking options through Monday, Nov. 16, as teams work to restore operations and care for customers.
The waiver covers travelers with flights scheduled between Nov. 13 and Nov. 16, allowing them to rebook at no extra cost via the Delta app or delta.com.
The airline encourages passengers with flexible plans to move their trips to Monday, Nov. 16, or later.
Those still flying Sunday or Monday should allow extra time and check the Delta app or delta.com before heading to the airport, as Delta automatically rebooks canceled flights to the next best itinerary while providing as much notice as possible.
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What we don't know:
Federal aviation officials have not yet confirmed the exact location of the remote facility where the maintenance occurred.
Authorities also have not released a timeline for when normal operations will fully resume at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from FlightAware, which provided live flight delay and cancellation data, as well as statements from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Delta Air Lines.