MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — Travelers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport faced widespread disruptions after an FAA ground stop led to delays and cancellations, including one international traveler whose flight to Rome, Italy, was canceled.<\/p>\n
An RDU spokesperson told ABC!! that a contractor cut a fiber-optic line near the FAA tower during a plumbing repair, leading to the outage. The tower was later back up and running.<\/p>\n
Bill Hunt of Cary said he was under pressure to find another way to reach Europe in time for an important business meeting scheduled for the following morning.<\/p>\n
“It’s a mess,” Hunt said.<\/p>\n
After his flight was canceled, Hunt said he quickly worked to secure a seat on another international flight and arrange transportation to a different airport.<\/p>\n
“They got me on that flight in Charlotte. So I just had to get to it because I couldn’t fly from here to Charlotte because everything’s canceled. So I had to get a ride, hitch a ride down there,” Hunt said.<\/p>\n
Other travelers at RDU also experienced delays during the afternoon because of the FAA ground stop.<\/p>\n
John Haney, who was trying to return to Cincinnati, said his delay was manageable.<\/p>\n
“It’s not what you want, but, you know, it’s not two hours. It’s not three hours. So we’ll take it,” Haney said.<\/p>\n
Airport operations were significantly affected, with 212 delays reported at RDU Airport as of Monday afternoon. There were nine cancellations.<\/p>\n