Some travelers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport continue to face delays after ground stops disrupted more than 200 flights Monday.
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The widespread delays came after a contractor cut a fiber optic line Monday morning during a plumbing repair near the air traffic control tower, according to an RDU spokesperson. That prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue intermittent ground stops, where jets remain on the ground at their departure points, between 10:30 a.m. and 8:15 p.m.
The cut line was repaired by Monday night, the spokesperson told The News & Observer.
But “a handful” of delays remained Tuesday morning, according to the spokesperson, without a significant impact to RDU’s flight schedules. The spokesperson deferred to the FAA for an exact number of affected flights. The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The N&O.
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, 22 delays were listed for RDU on Flightaware.com.
Bill Hunt, a Cary resident, told ABC11 on Monday he was under pressure to find another way to reach Europe in time for an important business meeting scheduled for the following morning.
“It’s a mess,” Hunt said.
After his flight was canceled, Hunt said he quickly worked to secure a seat on another international flight and arrange transportation to a different airport.
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“They got me on that flight in Charlotte. So I just had to get to it because I couldn’t fly from here to Charlotte because everything’s canceled. So I had to get a ride, hitch a ride down there,” Hunt said.
Other travelers at RDU also experienced delays during the afternoon because of the FAA ground stop.
John Haney, who was trying to return to Cincinnati, said his delay was manageable.
“It’s not what you want, but, you know, it’s not two hours. It’s not three hours. So we’ll take it,” Haney told ABC11.
Airport operations were significantly affected, with 212 delays reported at RDU Airport as of Monday afternoon. There were nine cancellations.
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ABC11 is The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.
This story was originally published October 12, 2026 at 10:14 PM.