MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Passengers at South Florida airports are dealing with travel trouble because of Tropical Storm Debby.
Officials at Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reported dozens of delays and cancellations.
7News cameras captured travelers backed up in lines, Sunday afternoon. Some were seen sleeping on the floor.
“We are ready to get home, and we’re just – we’re tired,” said traveler Amanda Ballard.
At FLL, officials reported more than 30 cancelled flights and more than 100 delayed flights on Sunday alone.
A passenger who spoke with 7News said he got left behind after he missed a connecting flight.
“We saw a lot of people stuck in the airport, we see a lot of people just got to the airport with no notification, and then, all of a sudden, they just told them that everything was cancelled,” he said.
MIA reported more than 100 cancellations and 160 delays on Sunday.
“We found out here our plane was cancelled, and now we are standing over here,” said a passenger who identified himself as Mustafa. “The next flight out of Miami to Houston is – the earliest I’m getting is Tuesday morning.”
Traveler Stella Almedie told 7News she and her family they were heading to Orlando until technology issues got in the way.
“They told us there was a flight, we entered the airplane, and there they told us to go to leave the airplane, because of, like, technical problems,” said traveler.
Almedie said she and her loved ones slept on the floor overnight and ended up not receiving compensation.
“If we wanted to have those things, we needed to get in a line for four hours,” she said.
Travelers Dalesia and Kaya Boyd said the have been trying to head home to Texas from MIA, and this is unlike anything they’ve been through before.
“This has been an experience. We’ve been trying to get home since, like, 3 p.m. yesterday,” said Dalesia. “Our flight was delayed a couple of times.”
The Boyds said their flight to MIA started to circle, then headed to the Bahamas to refuel. By the time they landed, the troubles continued.
“We were at [Gate] D7, and they told us to go to D50,” said Kaya.
“They changed our gate to D50,” said Dalesia.
“So we had to run all the way down there, which took maybe like 20 minutes. Not 20 minutes, maybe 15 to 20 minutes,” said Kaya.
“Almost two miles,” said Dalesia.
“For us to get down there, and then, by the time we had gotten down there, the plane already left for some reason,” said Kaya.
The Boyds said their attempts to to receive compensation also weren’t perfect.
“We will not be able to leave until Tuesday. However, we were only able to get a hotel voucher for one night,” said Dalesia. “This has been the worst travel experience for us.”
Some travelers at MIA told 7News they have been waiting for hours to board their flights. They said they were told there were tech issues, and the storm made matters worse.
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