Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Nov 15: Two people were injured after two aircraft collided on the taxiway at Miami International Airport in the US on Saturday, a day after a nationwide ground stop triggered widespread air travel disruptions, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country.

The incident occurred around 9.15 pm local time when the wingtip of a Copa Airlines Boeing 737 struck the nose of a UPS Boeing 767 cargo aircraft as both planes were taxiing at the airport, NDTV reported.

The Copa Airlines aircraft was arriving from Panama City with 166 passengers and six crew members on board.

The Panama-based airline confirmed that two people sustained injuries in the collision and received medical attention from airport paramedics.

"The aircraft is at the terminal and all passengers have disembarked. Two of them received attention from airport paramedics for what, preliminarily, appear to be minor injuries," the airline said in a statement.

It added that the remaining passengers and all six crew members were in good condition.

"We regret the inconvenience and concern this situation may have caused. We reiterate that the safety of passengers and crews is our priority. We will cooperate with the authorities in this investigation," the airline said.

Meanwhile, air travel disruptions across the US are expected to continue well into Sunday, with thousands of flights cancelled or delayed as airlines struggle to restore normal operations following a nationwide shutdown caused by problems in the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic control communications system.

FAA chief Bryan Bedford said on Saturday local time that flight schedules were unlikely to return to normal until late Sunday, even as the agency continued efforts to stabilise operations and resolve the technical problems.

According to aviation tracking website FlightAware, more than 6,150 flights had been cancelled and over 7,300 delayed across the US by 6.45 pm ET (2345 GMT) on Saturday.

The disruption followed an even more severe day on Friday, when around 9,200 flights were cancelled and another 7,500 faced delays. More than 530 flights scheduled for Sunday had also been cancelled by Saturday evening.

Bedford apologised to passengers affected by the disruption and assured them that the country's aviation system remained stable. He said the FAA was working to restore normal operations, with flight services expected to largely recover by late Sunday.

The continuing crisis has left thousands of passengers stranded at airports, while airlines are also struggling to reposition aircraft, pilots and other crew members to resume regular schedules.

The disruption began on Friday after the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop, bringing almost all departing flights across the country to a halt for nearly five hours.

The unprecedented shutdown also prompted an emergency meeting at the White House, where officials gathered in the Situation Room to assess the situation and examine its possible causes.

Authorities initially considered the possibility of a cyberattack behind the breakdown in the aviation system. However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later said the technical issue had been traced to the installation of at least one new router by FAA contractor L3Harris at a remote facility.