US air travel disruptions to persist until late on Sunday, FAA head says

US air travel is not expected to return to normal ​schedules until late on Sunday, the head of the FAA said, as the aviation system gradually recovers from a nationwide flight shutdown that officials blamed on routine maintenance ‌gone awry. As of 9:35 pm ET (0235 GMT), airlines on Saturday had canceled more than 6,400 US flights and delayed more than 8,000, according to FlightAware, an aviation website. That followed about 9,200 flights canceled and 7,500 delayed on Friday after the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop because of disruptions to air traffic communications.

FlightAware said 875 flights scheduled for Sunday were already canceled. Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford said on Saturday that he expected airline operations to largely ​return to normal by late Sunday. He also apologized for the disruption, adding that the system remains stable.

The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday that halted nearly all departing ​flights for almost five hours.