Nov 26, 2007 2:58 pm US/Eastern
Still Lagged Behind: Major Delays Hit NYC Airports
Rain, Fog Cause Delays Up To 3 Hours At LaGuardia; More Than 2 Hours At Both JFK And Newark
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Rain and poor visibility were blamed for delays of up to three hours at LaGuardia Airport on Monday as travelers headed home from the busy Thanksgiving weekend. (File)
CBS
As Americans return to normalcy with the always-bustling and busy Thanksgiving weekend coming to a close, airports are packed with travelers eager to return home, only to find they'll have to wait extended periods of time before getting to their destination.
Tired and frustrated passengers lined the terminals of LaGuardia Airport on Monday after rain and fog created poor visibility in the region. An airport spokesman said passengers were experiencing delays of up to three hours.
"It hasn't been very smooth, but we're surviving," said Nancy Fendley, who thought she'd be back at her home in Chicago by noon. Instead, she remained in the terminal with her 19-month-old daughter Emme who cried her own frustrations.
Watching the planes on the tarmac and knowing she is not getting on any of them also annoys passenger Yan Mei Guo, whose flight was canceled. A relative was called to come pick her up, but he's busy stuck in traffic on the roadways.
"I will return to my uncle's house and I will take a bus tonight," said Guo.
For Katrina Parchment of Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island, her travel plans have hit a double whammy. On her way to New York on Tuesday she spent two hours on a plane on the ground in Miami. Now heading home, she's hit yet another delay.
"About an hour I think. Let's hope it doesn't get delayed any more," she said. "At least I'm in here and I can food, read magazines, all that."
By 2:30 p.m., some arriving flights at Newark Airport were delayed an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes, while others at John F. Kennedy Airport were showing average delays of 2 hours and 11 minutes.
Thirty flights at LaGuardia were canceled, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Steve Coleman said. He did not know the total number of cancellations at Newark or Kennedy, but Newark's largest carrier, Continental Airlines, said bad weather forced it to cancel six flights into and out of the airport. Kennedy's largest carrier, JetBlue Airways, canceled six round-trip flights there.
AAA said its surveys indicated a record 38.7 million U.S. residents were likely to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday period of Wednesday through Sunday, up about 1.5 percent from last year.
About 4.7 million were expected to fly, and about 31.2 million travelers were likely to drive in spite of rising gasoline prices.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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