Some travelers were as grounded as flights after long delays

Technical problems at an air traffic control center in Virginia left passengers fuming as hundreds of flights to and from airports throughout a large swath of the Northeast were delayed or canceled.

Miller Roberts of Dallas was trying to fly from Baltimore to Kansas City to set up a robotics display at the Missouri State Fair but was caught in a flight delay for more than four hours.

Roberts, 40, said he boarded a Southwest Airlines flight Saturday that was supposed to take off at 10 a.m., but he was still sitting on the plane, waiting after 2 p.m. But he said his fellow passengers were taking the delay in stride.

The FAA blamed the problem on “technical issues” at an air traffic control center in Leesburg, Va. Around 4 p.m., the agency said the problem had been resolved, and that officials were working to lift any remaining orders to hold planes on the ground.

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