CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The winter storm that brought freezing rain, ice, sleet and snow to the Carolinas is still taking its toll on travel as hundreds of passengers were left stranded at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Monday.
More than 400 flights in or out of Charlotte were canceled Monday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Charlotte Douglas also reported 96 delays Monday.
Over 1,000 flights were canceled Saturday ahead of the storm. One couple told WCNC Charlotte's Brandon Goldner that it took 24 hours to get back home. They were forced to sleep at JFK International in New York City where there was no snow.
"Really just about an hour's worth of sleep," Nickole Branch said. "It's kind of rough to sleep when the lights are on, and there's so much activity."
Ellie Verdugo's family almost missed their Monday morning flight even though they came to the airport nearly three hours early.
"We're coming, and then a car in front of us just slid over so my husband almost hit it," Verdugo said. "It has been crazy [and] really bad."
Johnathan Wilson drove his family through the snowstorm.
He's in the Army and must catch a Monday flight to report back to his duty station in Europe.
"We've probably seen at least 10 or more accidents with people hitting the guardrails, people just spinning out, people going into ditches," Wilson said. "Luckily, after prayer and a long journey, [the drive] normally takes us four hours. It took us eight [hours]."
American Airlines issued a statement Sunday after discontinuing flight operations at the Charlotte airport for the remainder of the day due to weather conditions. The airline said they were expecting to resume flight operations on Monday morning with some delays and cancelations as they work to reposition aircraft and crews.
Here's the full Sunday statement from American Airlines:
This weekend’s winter storm has had a significant impact on our operation, especially at Charlotte International Airport (CLT). The vast majority of impacted flights were canceled in advance so we could proactively notify and accommodate our customers and avoid last-minute disruptions at the airport.
Additionally, we issued a travel notice to allow customers whose travel plans are impacted by the storm to rebook without change fees. We apologize to our customers whose travel plans have been affected, and want to thank our team who have worked tirelessly to help us safely care for our customers.
Additional info:
- We’ve made approximately 1,300 cancels across our mainline and regional operation for today.
- The travel notice covers airports in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia and parts of Canada.
- Customers are encouraged to check their flight status on aa.com or the American Airlines mobile app before heading to the airport.
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