FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Severe weather has led to more canceled and delayed flights at airports in South Florida and across the state for a third day in a row.
On Sunday, the number of cancellations going in and out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was 81, while the expected number of delays going in and out was 68.
Traveler Jeff Blanc, who is trying to fly home to Tennessee, said JetBlue canceled his connecting flight out of FLL.
“They don’t tell me anything. Anything,” he said. “It’s hard. I even go to the rental car [desk] to try to get it; it’s booked completely.”
Airlines blamed inclement weather in parts of Florida this weekend for the congestion.
In a statement issued Saturday, a spokesperson for FLL wrote, “Please note that these flight impacts are due to a combination of factors including airline operational issues and bad weather nationally.”
Flight tracker FlightAware states more than 3,500 flights have been canceled across the U.S. this weekend.
At Miami International Airport, the cancellations started Friday night. A 7News viewer shot cellphone video showing hundreds of passengers waiting to rebook their tickets after 17 flights were canceled.
MIA officials on Sunday said 36 arriving flights and 11 departing flights were canceled due to the weather.
Traveler Anthony Rodriguez said he is trying to get home to the West Coast from MIA.
“A couple delays and when I say a couple, I mean more than four, and at first they said it was the weather. Then they said the satellite was down,” he said.
Rodriguez said he is giving up work as he continues to wait for an open seat on a flight.
“They gave us a little pillow, and I had to buy a blanket. I call this home now ’cause I’ve been here for over 30 hours. Made a lot of good friends, good family members.”
Cameras captured long lines at Orlando International Airport as well.
“Who knows when we’re leaving, and we got work tomorrow. We got things to do,” said a traveler.
Some travelers waited hours to find out their flight was canceled and were unable to board a new one until the middle of the week.
The flight frustrations come days after a deadly tornado ripped through the Florida Panhandle, killing at least two people. The twister destroyed homes and knocked out power for tens of thousands of people in the South and Midwest.
Southwest Airlines alone had nearly 1,000 grounded planes this weekend. A spokesperson for the airline issued a statement on Sunday that reads in part, “Planned, overnight technology maintenance Friday into Saturday, delayed some of our earliest flights on Saturday morning … and canceled a total seven flights; those were atop of the 180+ flights that had been proactively canceled ahead of Saturday due to expected challenges with weather and airspace congestion in Central Florida.”
It’s a tough sell for traveler Brandi Hart, who said she has been bouncing back and forth between MIA and FLL trying to find the first available flight home to Atlanta on Southwest.
When asked to describe her experience, Hart replied, “Terrible, because I don’t have anymore money to spend to get another flight, so I’m just going to sleep in this airport again if I have to tonight.”
The Southwest Airlines spokesperson said a lot of their flight cancellations were planned to create the least amount of disruption. By midday Sunday, the airline said there were no more cancellations.
Travelers are advised to check with their airline before heading to the airport.
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