Weekend's stormy weather causing many flight delays at OIA
ORLANDO, Fla. - There was lots of red on the board at Orlando International Airport on Sunday. Airlines are blaming nationwide delays and cancellations for several reasons, including bad weather and staff shortages because of COVID-19 infections.
Orlando International Airport saw at least three-dozen flights canceled on Sunday, according to the flight-tracker website Flight Aware. Ron King and his family had been waiting at the airport for hours after their flight to St. Louis was delayed.
"Just been a 12-hour delay, and it's just frustrating," he said, "got an eight-year-old, a six-year-old, and a 14-month-old, and we're ready to go home, we've been here a week, had a great time, it's just frustrating that we have to just wait here, and this is what we're sleeping on, you know?" King said.
Julie Propps and her family are trying to get home to Cincinnati after a Caribbean cruise. Their flight has been delayed for more than ten hours. "Tiring," she said, "we have two kids, and it's expensive to be here and eat here, but we just make the best of it!"
U.S. Transportation officials say they want the nation's airlines to "stress test" their flight schedules to make sure airlines can operate all their planned flights with existing staff. The Transportation Department could potentially impose fines on airlines that fall short of consumer protection standards. Now that the Federal Government is stepping up pressure on airlines, there's actually worry that some carriers may cut back on their summer flights to make sure that the ones they keep arrive on time.
Frustrated travelers like Propps say they just want to make it home. "We don't have a car, so we can't go anywhere," she said, "we just have to make do!"