Confusion sets in at the Philadelphia airport after news of a nationwide ground stop

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The Details

Confusion struck the Philadelphia International Airport on Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration declared a rare nationwide ground stop.

Natalie Leverone had already boarded her American Airlines flight home to Cincinnati, Ohio, when she saw news of the national groundstop on her phone.

“Everything was going very well,” she said. “We got on the plane, and then we got a message that there was a ground stop, and it was very cryptic because it sounds like they don t know what s going on.”

She and multiple other passengers on the flight were working to book rental cars online to try to drive to Cincinnati instead. Information was coming in from national news outlets, before announcements were made on the aircraft. Passengers played videos from CNN on their phones.

“I think at first they weren t going to let us off,” Leverone said, “but then the pilot came on and said tha