Some travelers are waking up Monday morning at a spot they did not expect: inside one of South Florida's largest airports after their weekend flights were delayed or canceled due to bad weather.
As of Monday at noon, 38 flights were canceled and eight were delayed at Miami International Airport. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 55 flights were canceled and 31 were delayed.
“It was some technical issues in Jacksonville earlier and now they are telling me it is weather so I don't know what the truth is," said Melissa Norman, who was traveling out of Fort Lauderdale. "I'm very frustrated, exhausted, tired...but it is what it is. Can't do anything about it."
Officials at both airports told NBC 6 bad weather in Florida this weekend and around the country, combined with airline operational issues, caused hundreds of planes to be grounded.
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“Long story short is that it just kept getting delayed, delayed, delayed, and then at 1 a.m. they said our flight was canceled. So I ended up sleeping in the chair inside of a hotel lobby until 11 a.m. and then I got checked into a room locally," said Shaun Villaseñor, who was traveling to Los Angeles. "So I pulled an all-nighter."
FlightAware, a website that tracks flights, noted major disruptions at several Florida airports, including in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando, as well as Baltimore, New York and other airports around the country.
"They give me a flight for Wednesday, but I’m supposed to be there for a training tomorrow in New York," said Alvaro Castañeda, a Hollywood resident.
Local
JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit and American Airlines were most affected, according to FlightAware, with JetBlue and Spirit canceling one-third of Sunday's scheduled flights.
“Severe weather in the Southeast and multiple air traffic control delay programs have created significant impacts on the industry,” a JetBlue spokesperson said in an email. “Today’s cancellations will help us reset our operation and safely move our crews and aircraft back in to position.”
