Eclipse flights swarm airports: 'We had to close the runway to park planes'

Key Facts

The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.
Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday.
The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA’s morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman.