North Texas passengers describe nationwide ground stop

And we continue to follow breaking news, a nationwide ground stop impacting air travel across the country. Good evening. I'm Eden Shackle. Fox 4's Amelia Jones is in studio with the latest. Amelia. Hi there, Eden. For those of you who are joining us here at Fox 4 News at 530, Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullins just spoke with reporters saying that there is no reason to believe that there is a threat to the United States. It's just a telecommunications outage. That nationwide ground stop was issued this afternoon. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared there are communication issues that are affecting air traffic control centers that direct domestic flights. FAA technicians are currently investigating And they are not ruling out the possibility of We have a connection to Thursday's Microsoft outage. Now, this is impacting airlines and airports across the country, and we are seeing long lines of planes waiting on the runway to take off. Federal officials say planes are still landing. Those flights that were midair when the ground stop was issued, they are dealing with them on a case-by-case basis. Secretary Mullen said they are working to get those planes safe on the ground and normal operations back up. But when that will be... Right now, there is no timetable. So this means people are unfortunately stranded at airports across the country. This is the first time a nationwide ground stop of this nature has been issued since January 2023. And before that, it was 9-11. Officials have been calling this a telecommunications outage, as you heard me say earlier, or issue that they're dealing with. There is a multi-billion dollar modernization update that is currently underway for this system. For several years now, there have been calls to update it as it's been long blocked. We've spoken to a lot of passengers who are frustrated and even unsure of what to do next. A lot of people were upset they couldn't get their bags out off the plane. The two women next to me decided to book a car. They're driving to Denver tonight. Like everyone else, I can't get home. I'm going home. Got delayed. With no clear timeline to get planes back in the air, travelers may be considering canceling or changing their travel plans. But before you do, consumer expert Steve Noviello is in our digital studio with the best practices to avoid fees. Steve. Hey, Eden, first I want to start with that communication, right? A lot of people are going to be calling the airlines trying to rebook. Those wait times are very, very long. So if you are in that situation, consider using a mobile app. Also check your credit card. Many of them have travel rebooking benefits that you might not be aware of. You also will probably face shorter lines to do that. A lot of airline lounges will allow you to pay a day rate to get in. That will get you access to a customer service person in a much shorter line plus access to all the food and beverage that they have so that you can be a little bit more comfortable while you wait. As for getting your money back, it's a bit of a holding game here, right? Depending if you're holding a non-refundable ticket, and even if you are, you can't get a full cash refund, but it depends on, so to speak, who blinks first. If the airline cancels your trip, you get a full refund, No questions asked, no cancellation fees, no problem. You are going to go ahead and take the initiative, and you are going to cancel before they do. Then your non-refundable ticket still remains non-refundable, unless you've met the Department of Transportation's threshold for a significant delay. That's going to be more than three hours for domestic, more than six hours for international travel. Airlines must process those refunds, by the way, within seven business days for your credit card, 20 calendar days for cash or debit. Now, if you do want your money back, you want to avoid any sort of Sort of offer from the airline asking you if you want some sort of voucher. Accepting a voucher will absolutely negate your ability to ask for cash later on. Also, very important, if you are going to wait it out at the airport, if in fact this does all resolve itself by 10 o'clock tonight, an FAA ground stop is classified as what's called an outside force event, meaning this is beyond the control of the airline that is hosting you. Therefore, they are not liable for things like vouchers for food or for lodging, something you definitely want to think about before you expect to get reimbursed for that $12 bag of chips you're about to eat in the terminal.