HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The nationwide Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground stop on Friday is causing a ripple effect, felt by dozens at Richmond International (RIC). In the height of the Friday, Nov. 13 panic, more than 1,500 passengers were waiting in the concourse at RIC for update s. On Saturday, the airport was seemingly empty. Over 80 flights were cancelled across both days. Those who were still there tell 8News they are focused on getting home. One couple 8News spoke with is missing a wedding in Iowa. Another woman is trying to get home to South Africa. RIC opened an emergency operations center to help manage the disruptions, offering cots for those spending the night in the terminal and extended service hours for restaurants and stores. The ground stop ended at around 9 p.m. on Friday, over four hours after it started. It was caused by a network outage due to aging infrastructure. "I know a lot of people were disrupted," said US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a press conference Saturday morning. "Whether they were going on vacation, they were coming home from work, they had significant disruption and the patience that they exhibited, we at the DOT and the FAA are grateful for that patience." In the midst of the Friday night chaos, 8News spoke with several passengers who said they felt left in the dark. “I just feel like they should probably be giving us a little bit more information on what’s going on," said Lamar Palmer, who was travelling to Florida for his daughters 21st birthday. “I was very concerned about all the pilots and the passengers in the air, hoping that they get home safely and get grounded safely," said Ken Stoner, who was flying out for a cruise. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is still working to figure out all of the details related to this incident. Secretary Duffy has asked Congress for $50 billion to aid in Air Traffic Control modernization. RIC expects normalcy to return soon, though the Communications Department said the disruptions might be felt for days as airlines work to accommodate passengers and flight crews. ...read more read less