Nationwide bad weather delivered another day of bad luck for travelers flying to and from South Florida, forcing hundreds of flight delays and cancellations Tuesday at the region’s three international airports.

Travelers who sought local emergency lodging reportedly found hotels fully booked with Spring Breakers and seasonal vacationers.

The tracking service FlightAware showed Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport had 300 delays and 98 cancellations by late afternoon Tuesday after travelers suffered through 429 delays and 286 cancellations on Monday.

Two ground stops at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood — one early Monday evening and the other in the early morning hours of Tuesday — allowed airport officials to deal with an “imbalance” of arriving and departing flights.

Early Tuesday, the Broward County Aviation Department collaborated with the impacted airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control tower to sort through the chaos, which evolved from “extreme ramp and gate congestion at FLL resulting in an imbalance issue with more aircraft arriving than departing the airport during the late evening hours,” said spokesperson Arlene Satchell.

“This second ground stop enabled the airport to address this situation and allow for passengers to deplane from aircraft that had already arrived,” she said.

The ground stop, which started about 1:30 a.m., was lifted at 3:30 a.m. and “normal airport operations resumed.”

The previous evening, the first ground stop was declared about 7 p.m., but the airport was not closed as departures continued and the stop was lifted about 9:30 p.m., Satchell said.

One traveler reported early Tuesday he was experiencing a 10-hour delay and saw hundreds of people sleeping in one of the Broward airport’s terminals.

Miami International Airport had 315 delays and 48 cancellations late Tuesday afternoon after absorbing 450 delays and 307 cancellations the day before.

“A rough night for airports across Florida,” said spokesperson Greg Chin. “Due to thunderstorms across the state, MIA had a ground stop between 8:00 and 8:30 last night for all inbound flights, followed by departure delays on and off between 9 p.m. and midnight.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, departures from Miami were being delayed Tuesday by an average of 15 minutes “and increasing.”

Palm Beach International Airport, which does not handle as much daily traffic as the Broward and Miami-Dade county airports, still experienced 115 delays and 27 cancellations by late Tuesday afternoon after being subjected to 119 delays and 95 canceled flights the day before, according to FlightAware.

“Yesterday’s weather impacts across multiple regions did result in some delays and cancellations affecting flights into and out of Palm Beach International Airport,” said spokesperson Rebeca Krogman. “Operations have improved compared to yesterday; however, some delays and cancellations continue due to weather and residual impacts.”

She said the airport continues to encourage travelers to arrive at the airport two hours prior to scheduled departures and to double check with their airlines for the most current flight information.

The delays weren’t limited to South Florida.

Kelly Price, who was trying to get home to Colorado after a family vacation in Orlando, said her Sunday night flight wasn’t canceled until early Monday.

“By that time the only place for us to sleep was the airport floor. So we’re all tired and frustrated,” she said, adding that the soonest she and her family could book another flight doesn’t leave until Tuesday afternoon.

Besides the weather, a partial federal government shutdown continued to cause lines at airport terminals nationwide as TSA checkpoint screeners called out of work because they are not getting paid, according to The Associated Press. The shutdown, which started Feb. 14, has caused personnel shortages around the country for more than a month.

At an Atlanta news conference Monday outside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, TSA union leaders warned that travelers could face increasingly long wait times as the shutdown continues. But they said many officers are still working despite mounting financial strain.

Many TSA workers “are coping with eviction notices, vehicle repossessions, empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts,” said Aaron Barker, a local leader with the American Federation of Government Employees. Supporters behind him held signs reading, “We want a paycheck, not a rain check.”

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Flight delays are never fun, especially as Spring Break marks one of the year’s busiest travel periods. But amid a partial government shutdown and severe weather across the Eastern U.S. in addition to a high volume of travelers, major South Florida travel hubs like Miami International (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airports (FLL) are having to cancel and delay flights left and right.

How many flights have been affected at MIA and FLL?

As of Tuesday, March 17, hundreds of delayed flights have been reported across our major South Florida hubs. You can see it for yourself on FlightAware.

Cancellations are almost as high, with nearly 200 cancelled flights into, out of, and within MIA and FLL combined. This is, of course, on top of last night’s ground stops and delays which expired late Monday, stranding aircraft and crews and cancelling dozens more flights.

What is causing these delays and cancellations?

According to news reports, despite the weather being fine in South Florida, a massive storm system pummeling the rest of the country as well as a partial government shutdown leaving 50,000 TSA and Customs agents without pay are impacting airports right now.

What should I do as a traveler?

Firstly, you should check your flight status directly on the airports’ websites and official apps. For MIA travelers, your flight status can be tracked here. If you have your flight number and want to search by flight or route, this other MIA tracker can be easier in helping you find the information you’re looking for.

Those flying through FTL can click here for their online flight tracker, which also works by flight or route.

You should also arrive early so that you don’t have to worry while you inevitably wait in line. The standard recommendation is to get to the airport two hours early for domestic flights and three hours for international flights. Keeping these in mind with the ripple effects of canceled flights and exceptionally long TSA lines, give yourself plenty of extra time.

Best of luck and safe travels, South Florida!

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Travelers faced another morning of delays and long lines at South Florida airports on Tuesday as spring break crowds collided with weather-related cancellations and the partial government shutdown.

Hannah Hendrickson, visiting from Kentucky, said the wait was frustrating at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

“We’ve just spent hours in lines,” said Hendrickson. “Some people have been great, some people have been snotty. “That just makes the experience not so fun.”

Jazlyn McIntyre, visiting from Ohio, described her own travel troubles.

“We flew into Fort Lauderdale Thursday night. Our flight got delayed three different times on the flight in, and then our flight back got cancelled last night,” she said.

Adding to the strain, TSA workers missed their first full paycheck Friday because of the shutdown. A massive storm system along the East Coast has also triggered hundreds of delays and cancellations.

Hendrickson said she understood the weather-related delays.

“We got delayed, weather -- totally get that. They can’t control the weather,” she said.

At Miami International Airport, officials posted on social media that they were working to minimize disruptions caused by the storm.

Travelers sympathized with TSA employees caught in the shutdown.

“Given what the TSA employees are going through right now it’s hard to get bitter about all of these things because I know they are in a really tough spot,” a traveler said.

Travelers have faced shutdown-related chaos before, after last year’s record-long government shutdown. If this partial shutdown continues, scenes like this could become the new normal at airports nationwide.

McIntyre said she hoped her flight would go through.

“I’m hoping it doesn’t get cancelled,” she said. “If not, we’re staying the night at this airport cause I’m not spending money on another hotel room.”

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Between bad weather and Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages, travel hiccups continue to frustrate airline passengers in South Florida.

On Tuesday, there was a scene at Fort Lauderdale-International Airport that most travelers would like to forget.

Stranded travelers were weary after a long night of cancellations on Monday night.

"There were hundreds of people sleeping on the floor," Luce Lepine said.

Tiffany Davis told NBC6 that she is trying to get to Baltimore.

"And then they have this long line outside of the airport, and you stand in it to get a flight," she said.

But for Davis, that didn't work.

"We're currently looking now for a rental car," she said.

Long early morning lines crowded Terminal 3 and even stretched out onto the sidewalk outside Terminal 4.

Flight delays and cancellations have come between spring break travelers and their destinations.

"I'm just trying to get on my flight, I'm trying to go home, I haven't slept in probably four days," David Tsava said.

For Tsava, it's like a bad dream.

"Kept getting delayed, delayed, delayed," he said. "Almost seven hours now. I'm getting tired of this." Flying spirit to get to Maryland."

Lacey and her son were supposed to be back home in Detroit on Saturday.

"I'm exhausted, I mean, it doesn't really help to get mad and frustrated because that's just gonna make everybody else upset, so you just do the best that you can," she said.

As of Tuesday evening, at FLL, there were 304 delays and 98 cancellations. At MIA, there were 315 delays and 48 cancellations, according to FlightAware data.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Two very different South Florida food spots recently achieved something that is not easy for any restaurant or food operation to do. Both received perfect scores during unannounced routine food safety inspections conducted by the state of Florida.

Pizzeria Magaddino, located inside Gulfstream Brewing Company in Fort Lauderdale, had zero violations during its most recent inspection.

When Local 10 News stopped by, owner Tom Magaddino did not know the results.

“I wanted to talk to someone about a recent inspection. You had one on the 19th. You know what you got?” Local 10 investigator Jeff Weinsier asked.

“No.. you don’t? I know it’s.. I don’t know,” Magaddino said with a laugh.

Weinsier delivered the news.

“Well, I’m gonna tell you what you got. You got 100 percent, you had zero violations and there are very few restaurants and places that do that,” Weinsier said.

Because of that result, the restaurant received a Local 10 Clean Plate award.

“We at Local 10 hand out something called the Clean Plate award,” Weinsier said.

“Awesome. Thank you so much,” Magaddino replied.

The pizzeria opened in 2018 and operates inside the Gulfstream Brewery space, although the two businesses are separate.

“This is Gulfstream Brewery. We are two separate entities in one place,” Magaddino said.

Magaddino said cleanliness is something customers should expect when they dine out.

“When you eat in your house, you want a clean area, so we want to have that same environment here,” he said.

He credits the restaurant’s small staff for keeping the kitchen running smoothly.

“Small crew of 10. Everyone has their own responsibilities. It’s as simple as checking the coolers and a cooler log to making sure all the tasks are done from the morning and night shift,” Magaddino said.

The Clean Plate award adds to another recent honor. Pizzeria Magaddino also won the judges’ award for Best Bite at the Visit Lauderdale Food and Wine Festival, which featured hundreds of vendors from across the area.

Magaddino says the restaurant focuses heavily on its ingredients and preparation process.

“Everything is homemade. We make our own sausage to dough. We do a three day fermentation on our dough. Simple ingredients. Flour, water, salt and yeast,” he said.

Instead of making dough and using it immediately, the restaurant allows the dough to ferment for three days. During that time, natural yeast breaks down sugars in the flour, which develops flavor and changes the texture of the crust.

Regular customer Errol Dubolay says the pizza is worth the drive.

“You drive from Coral Springs three days a week to eat here?” Weinsier asked.

“I do. I love it. It is my favorite pizza. I’ve tried other places,” Dubolay said.

Dubolay says the fermentation process is one reason he keeps coming back.

“It’s not just the clean(liness). It tastes good and it is good for my blood sugar. They do the fermentation -- a 72-hour fermentation, so it reduces my glucose,” he said.

“And it tastes good?” Weinsier asked.

“Yes, more importantly it tastes good,” Dubolay said.

Local 10’s second Clean Plate award went to a much more tucked away spot.

Inside Sasaya Japanese Market in Fort Lauderdale, customers can find a small sushi counter in the back of the store where chefs prepare fresh sushi to go.

Owner Satoshi Horii was working behind the counter when Weinsier arrived.

“You’re busy right now?” Weinsier asked.

Horii acknowledged the rush.

“But I have something good. I have some good news for you,” Weinsier told him.

The day before, state inspectors conducted a routine inspection.

“You had an inspection yesterday?” Weinsier asked.

“Yeah,” Horii replied.

“How many violations?” Weinsier asked.

“I was not here,” Horii said.

Weinsier showed him the results.

“I’ll show you. You had zero violations. Perfecto,” Weinsier said.

Horii responded with a thumbs up.

“Yeah,” he said.

The sushi counter received a Local 10 Clean Plate award.

“We are going to give you this,” Weinsier said.

“Ahh, thank you,” Horii replied.

“The Clean Plate award to show you keep the place clean,” Weinsier said.

Records also show a previous inspection in August 2025 also resulted in zero violations.

“Not only did you have an inspection yesterday that had zero violations, but there was one done in August 2025 -- also zero violations. That’s not easy to do?” Weinsier said.

“Ohh yeah,,” Horii said.

“Of course,” another employee added.

Sasaya Japanese Market has been serving the Fort Lauderdale community since 1997 and is known for authentic Japanese groceries, including mochi ice cream, Udon noodles, Japanese sweets and a wide variety of sake.

Horii says maintaining cleanliness is simply part of the daily routine.

“What is the secret? What do you do?” Weinsier asked.

“No secret,” Horii replied.

“We clean up every night after we close. Vacuum and sweep,” he said.

The market has been in business for about 30 years, and Horii took over operations about eight years ago.

Many customers head straight to the sushi counter in the back of the market, where chefs prepare popular items, such as the Sasaya Roll made with tuna, salmon, white tuna, avocado and cucumber.

The sushi bar has also been recognized by New Times Broward Palm Beach as one of the Ten Best Sushi Restaurants in Broward County.

“Happy. Thank you,” Horii said after receiving the Clean Plate award.

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