Air traffic 'glitch' grounds hundreds of flights in US

Hundreds of flights to and from airports throughout a large swathe of the US, from New York to the Carolinas, have been delayed or cancelled by an air traffic problem which frayed passengers’ tempers.

The Federal Aviation Administration blamed the delays on “technical issues” at an air traffic control centre in Leesburg, Virginia. The agency said the problem had been resolved at around 4pm local time on Saturday and officials were working to lift any remaining orders to hold planes on the ground.