Jan. 11, 2023, 11:17 a.m. ETJan. 11, 2023, 11:17 a.m. ETAirline staff at Newark Liberty International Airport helped customers as the F.A.A. ordered a grounding of all domestic flights on Wednesday morning.Credit…Jeenah Moon for The New York TimesHaving a flight delayed, then receiving little information or hope about when it will finally take off, is not an unfamiliar fate for frequent fliers. But the F.A.A. system failure that caused more than 6,500 delays on Wednesday led to a slightly different dynamic for the frustrated passengers: This time, they didn’t have the airline to blame.“Because it was a systemwide, nationwide thing, there was nowhere to direct your outrage, so everybody was being really helpful,” said Jess McIntosh, a political consultant whose American Airlines flight was delayed in Albany, N.Y. “And nobody was yelling at the T.S.A. agents.”Bettina Inclán, who was traveling to Houston from Washington, said her United pilot kept everyone on her delayed flight informed and calm.“The entire United team did really well in setting expectations, being honest on what they knew and didn’t know and what it all meant,” she said.As Sara Hole, of Stamford, Conn., and her fiancé, Drew Tomlinson, waited by their gate in Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday morning, they got the impression that the American Airlines staff members were just as confused as the passengers.Over the intercom, an airline representative told them there was an F.A.A. “system outage,” but there were few other details.“They have emphasized that they have all of the same information that we do,” Ms. Hole said.Some of the passengers may have been understanding, but their plans were no less ruined. Ms. McIntosh, who left for the airport at 4:30 a.m. to catch a flight to Raleigh, N.C., for a business meeting, eventually went back home when she realized she was going to miss most …
