Thunderstorms roaring across Colorado on Saturday afternoon brought Denver International Airport to a screeching halt, as the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a ground stop that stranded fliers, clogged gates, and left planes parked on the tarmac.
Arrivals and departures were paused while the storms moved through, and travelers reported long waits inside the terminals as the severe weather threat expanded across the eastern plains. Forecasters warned the same system could spit out large hail and damaging winds into the evening.
Flights Held, Delays Mount
The FAA issued the ground stop at 3:13 PM, and 199 flights at DEN were delayed by 3:55 PM, according to The Denver Post. The outlet reported that United accounted for 69 of those delays, Southwest 54, and regional carrier SkyWest 42, with airport weather sensors clocking wind gusts around 40 mph.
Agency officials told reporters there was a medium chance the ground stop could stretch past 4:30 PM, a polite way of saying travelers might be stuck a while.
FAA And Airport Response
Ground stops are one of the FAA’s bluntest tools: they keep inbound flights from departing for an airport when weather or other problems cut the number of planes that can safely land. The agency’s live airport-status page is the official spot for those operational advisories, and Denver was firmly in the red on Saturday afternoon…