SAN ANTONIO — Lee Griffin arrived at San Antonio International Airport 13 hours before his scheduled flight to Florida all while a winter storm sweeps across the nation.
“Praying that I don’t have a delay and hopefully I’ll be back with my family tomorrow at 12:37 p.m.,” Griffin said.
An arctic blast has disrupted air travel throughout the country, leading to more than 2,400 canceled flights on Thursday and an additional 2,200 flights scrapped on Friday, according to FlightAware.com
San Antonio International Airport has experienced only a handful of cancelations while delays account for a majority of holiday travel woes.
Between Dec. 16 and Jan. 2-3, about 500,000 travelers are expected to come through San Antonio’s airport, according to airport director Jesus Saenz.
“It will be chilly, it will be brisk,” Saenz said.
Saenz stressed San Antonio International Airport is working closely with the airlines when it comes to communicating flight status to passengers.
He urges travelers to routinely check their airline’s app or go to FlySanAntonio.com for information on flight status.
Saenz noted the airport is prepared to accommodate 30,000 to 40,000 people a day during this holiday period.
“We’re ensuring that our wait times (TSA) stay below 10 minutes throughout the entire process,” Saenz said. “Trying to accommodate everyone’s needs so that they can go and enjoy their beautiful time with family and loved ones.”
Chris Beity experienced massive delays at the Denver International Airport due to a string of plane problems. He was supposed to land in San Antonio around 11 a.m. but ended up deboarding at 5:30 p.m.
“Deplaned waited another few hours, got back on it, sat on the tarmac again for an hour because they didn’t have the proper paperwork,” Beity said.
The Beity family are taking the family dog and camper trailer to Corpus Christi for Christmas.
“It’s supposed to be warm.”