JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An air traffic computer issue lead to a nationwide ground stop for flights arriving and leaving Florida Monday.
The FAA reports the issue is resolved, but it did cause delays at airports across the state, including at the Jacksonville International Airport.
The airport wound up with 87 delays and 11 cancellations Monday, compared to just 30 delays and two cancellations Sunday.
"My trip was delightful," said Michael Vasquez as he wrapped up his holiday plans to head back to Seattle. "I came to see my mom over here for the holidays."
Vasquez and his two daughters made it to Jacksonville from Seattle without any issues - in fact, they caught their connecting flight in Chicago right before the winter storm shut it down.
With the winter storm passed and many airlines getting back on schedule, he figured he'd have a good chance at making it home on time.
"They said the skies were congested," said Vasquez. "There wasn't anything wrong with the plane or anything. They just had a lot of flights in the air. That's the reason my flight got canceled."
A radar issue delayed Florida flights in the early afternoon, compounded with an already busy travel day - AAA projected January second to be one of the three busiest travel days of the holiday season - and many airlines still catching up from the winter storm cancellations, all contributed to a nightmare day at Florida airports.
While many of last week's issues were contributed to Southwest, every single airline at Jacksonville International had delays to start the new year.
The delays were worse early in the day, and tapered off a bit toward the evening, meaning not every traveler had to spend a whole day at the airport.
"Everything's been smooth," said Anna Hill on her way to board her plane to Oklahoma City. "Southwest was maybe about an hour late Saturday, but compared to everyone else this season, I was blessed."
Vasquez will have to wait two days for his next chance to fly home, but he's trying to look on the bright side.
"Thank God I don't have to stay in the airport," said Vasquez. "At least I get to back to see my mom and spend a little more time with her."
The FAA reports a lot of travelers will take to the air Wednesday too, with around 44,000 scheduled flights compared to the 42,000 scheduled for Monday before the computer issue.