On the departure and arrival boards at Miami International Airport, flights were cancelled both coming and going.
But Patrick Peel is one determined dad.
"This is my first time having a storm or hurricane or whatever . I've only been here since April and my kids came down to visit me for the weekend and we had to cut it short to get them out of here," Peel said. He added that his three children were able to get on a flight to Chicago.
Fransisco Guadarrana wasn't as fortunate. "My flight was supposed to leave at 7:30 to Mexico City so they scheduled me for tomorrow night," he said.
As of 4 p.m., 555 flights had been cancelled at MIA, including 294 inbound flights and 261 outbound flights. A majority of the flights are American Airlines and American Eagle, according to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.
The Venado family of eight was also supposed to depart for Mexico City . Their flight was cancelled.
American Airlines gave them a voucher for a discounted hotel room nearby and rescheduled their departure for Tuesday.
Ena Stuart's cancelled flight put a damper on her cruise vacation. She got off the ships in Orlando at about 6 a.m. on Sunday, drove to Miami and has been sitting in the airport ever since.
"Well, if there'sa storm, it has to be cancelled for our safety but you didn't expect it. No, I didn't," she said.
Local
Mark Henderson, spokesperson for MIA says flights are stopped when crosswinds are sustained at 55 miles per hour.
At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 150 flights have been cancelled in and out of the airport since Friday and 12 flights were delayed.
Gregory Meyer, public information officer, said travelers should allow additional travel time as there are significant construction projects near the airport that could cause delays.
