Flights in the US have resumed, but airlines are struggling to clear a backlog.
A communications failure forced a nationwide grounding of US departures for about five hours until Friday evening.
Nearly 29 million passengers are expected to fly on US airlines during the Thanksgiving travel period from November 20–30.
Air travellers across the United States are facing further disruptions this weekend following a nationwide grounding of flights, just as the country prepares for the busy Thanksgiving holiday period.
Airlines are struggling to clear a backlog of delayed and cancelled services after a major air traffic control communications failure forced authorities to suspend departures across the country for about five hours on Friday, local time.
Flights have since resumed, but airlines are warning it could take days for services to return to normal.
The disruption comes less than a week before the Thanksgiving travel rush, with industry group Airlines for America forecasting nearly 29 million passengers will fly on US airlines between November 20 and 30.
While officials expect operations to return to normal before the holiday rush, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the process would be gradual.
Thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed, leaving passengers stranded at airports across the country and forcing airlines to rearrange aircraft and crew schedules.
