When it snows that fast, it wreaks havoc on travel, and especially on air travel. Runways at John F. Kennedy Airport were still covered in snow this evening, much of still blowing around.
JFK and Newark Liberty International Airport are expected to open at 6 p.m. after the winter storm caused close to 1,400 flights to be cancelled in the area. American Airlines at LaGuardia will not have any flights on Tuesday.
Clean-up crews have been out in full force, but keeping up with the snow has been no easy task, reports CBS 2’s Wendy Gillette.
There was no post-holiday present for hundreds of stranded passengers at LaGuardia Airport.
Take Christopher Parker, for example. He first encountered travel troubles while heading to stormy London. He gave up on a European vacation and is now trying to make his way back home to Ontario, Canada.
“This is our fourth flight that’s been canceled and we’ve been on three continents,” Parker told Gillette.
Cleo Raimone celebrated her birthday in the food court, but was trying to stay upbeat.
“All these wonderful people have come in to celebrate with me,” Raimone said.
The airport opened one of two runways at 4 p.m., but the general manager expected just a few flights to arrive or depart.
It will take days to return to normal operations. The line at American Airlines to rebook snaked at least 10 layers back from the ticket counters. Also, many passengers reported getting reports from American’s website that were inaccurate.
“I went back to the airport this morning because at 11:45 a.m. it said our flight was on time on the website. I come to the airport to find out the airport is closed, and that all the flights are canceled until tomorrow. I am not pleased with American’s customer service at this point in time and will write a letter to them,” one passenger said.
“It’s the beginning of a nightmare I can see because my next booking is on the 31st – four days – so I’m looking to spend a few extra days in Queens,” another passenger said.
{CBS/AP/880-AM NY/Matzav.com}
