KIRO Newsradio host Angela Poe Russell stuck in Cabo until Tuesday after ground stop

KIRO Newsradio host Angela Poe Russell and her family are stuck in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, until Tuesday after a ground stop left them waiting aboard their plane for 6½ hours Friday.

Russell said their plane was next in line to take off when the stoppage was announced. In a voice memo sent to KIRO Newsradio Friday night, she said passengers had finally been allowed off and were collecting their luggage, with their travel plans uncertain.

“We have no idea what we’re gonna do tonight,” Russell said. “We’ve been told to pick up our luggage. So that’s what everyone is doing right now.”

In a text sent shortly afterward, Russell said her family would not be able to fly out until next week.

“No flights for us til Tuesday!!” she wrote. “And others not til the 20th.”

Earlier Friday, Russell called into KIRO Newsradio from the plane, telling hosts Spike O’Neill and Jim Dever that passengers had been preparing to depart when the pilot announced they could not take off.

Russell said the pilot described a nationwide ground stop involving a communications issue. At the time, she had no indication of how long the delay would last.

“I’m personally feeling grateful that we’re not in the air,” she told the hosts.

By Friday night, Russell said the situation at the airport was chaotic, but she emphasized that her family was safe.

“When you’re traveling, you just have to roll with it, right?” she said. “At the end of the day, people are safe.”

Arriving passengers wait for gates in Seattle

The disruption also left arriving passengers waiting aboard planes at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), including Charlynn Duecy, the wife of KIRO Newsradio reporter Luke Duecy.

She was flying from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Seattle on Friday when the ground stop was ordered. After landing, she spent about an hour on the tarmac waiting for a gate.

Speaking with her husband by phone while still aboard, Duecy said passengers began learning about the disruption in the air as messages arrived on their phones.

“Some people were watching the news, and I got a text saying that they’ve grounded all air traffic,” she said.

Duecy said the pilots told passengers they had little information but explained that flights could land even though departures had stopped. They warned that a backlog could mean a wait for a gate.

“And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened,” she said.

After landing, her plane was moved to a holding area, where the engines were shut off. Duecy said she could see about 7 or 8 other Delta planes ahead of hers, with more arriving behind them.

“We’re just gonna hang out in this Delta parking lot for a little bit,” she said.

Despite the delay, Duecy said the crew was kind and passengers were mostly taking the situation in stride.

“Luckily we have folks who are in pretty good spirits as of right now,” she said. “But you know, wait an hour, we may have a Lord of the Flies situation.”

Luke Duecy told his wife he could see her plane on the tarmac and was glad she was home safely.

“Almost in the home stretch,” she replied.

Follow @FrankLenziKIRO