Some flights bound for the Washington, D.C., area were delayed or canceled at Portland International Jetport and Bangor International Airport on Saturday afternoon because of technical problems at an air traffic control center in Leesburg, Virginia.
Both US Airways and Southwest Airlines delayed or canceled nine flights out of the jetport Saturday, and a long line formed in front of those airlines’ counters in the afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration said an “automation problem” that snarled air traffic throughout a large swath of the Northeast stretching from New York down to the Carolinas has been resolved.
The FAA said the problem had been resolved by 4 p.m. Saturday, The Associated Press reported, but it was unclear how quickly the airlines would patch together new flight schedules.
Joe Kolar of Bethesda, Maryland, was told the earliest flight he could get on from Portland to Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., was Monday.
“That’s not going to work,” he said.
Kolar said he was supposed to fly out from Portland on US Airways at 12:25 p.m. Saturday, and by 4 p.m. he was still trying to arrange another flight.
That was the same situation that faced Pinky and Leighton Houck of Forest, Virginia, who had been booked on the same flight as Kolar. They said a telephone agent had told them to get on a flight from Portland to Charlotte, North Carolina, but they were still in line when they heard the last call for the flight.
“I only fly once a year,” Pinky Houck said. She said the couple come to Maine every summer to stay at Ocean Point, near Boothbay. It had been an enjoyable vacation until Saturday, she said.
Leighton Houck was working the phone, trying to make other plans before the couple finally decided to head over to the Portland Transportation Center to take a bus or train to Boston. Amtrak has a train to Lynchburg, Virginia, on Sunday morning, Pinky Houck said, although an Amtrak agent said there were no guarantees that they could get a ticket, given the disruption to the airlines that led many passengers to switch to the train.
Still, “I think we’ll have more options in Boston,” Leighton Houck said before the couple set off to take a cab to the transportation center.
Ed and Mary Holt decided to rent a car to drive to their home in Annapolis, Maryland, after getting bad news from an agent at Southwest Airlines.
“The first seats we can get are on Tuesday,” Ed Holt said.
Mary Holt said the difficulties leaving Maine were probably cosmic payback for having spent two enjoyable weeks sailing along the coast with friends.
“You’ve got to pay your dues somewhere,” she said.
In Bangor, a Washington-bound U.S. Airways flight was canceled and two Philadelphia-bound U.S. Airways flights were delayed Saturday afternoon.
Both Maine airports had posted more delays or cancellations for flights on Sunday.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.