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Winter storm creating travel nightmare as delays, cancellations grow
Travelers share their experiences flying out of Orlando amid a winter storm that's tearing across parts of the U.S.
ORLANDO, Fla. - There was a lot of red on the MCO airport departures and arrivals board on Thursday, with canceled and delayed flights. Travelers say they're glad they remembered to also pack their patience, and they’re trying to take the delays and cancelations in stride.
"Just delay after delay, right now we're on a six-hour wait to fly home for Christmas, yeah," said Chris Sarver, who was trying to get to Pittsburgh.
Sarver said it was frustrating, but hoped to make it home for Christmas. "I figured the airlines would be a little more prepared for storm surges, but you can't really control the weather. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Over the last week, airport officials say well over 120,000 passengers per-day have passed through MCO. Major winter storms have taken over much of the Midwest, Great Lakes, Plains, East Coast, and South. Airports are feeling impacts. Airlines have issued hundreds of waivers, canceled thousands of flights, and sent warnings to passengers flying into areas at risk.
"So far the area we're traveling to is okay, but we're not sure it will stay like that!" said Ryanne Johnson, who was trying to get to Dallas.
The deep freeze could impact many flights from MCO, and at major airport hubs in Houston, Chicago, Detroit, and other Florida cities.
Officials expect it to get worse as the temperatures drop. Passengers say they're getting ready to hunker down.
"We have no family," Johnson said, "we're actually leaving Disney World. We live in Alabama, so we're pretty stranded."
Sanford's airport has also put out an alert about delays and cancelations, and said their parking spaces are filling-up fast.