Tornado, storms ground flights, crowds take cover at O'Hare International Airport
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Tornadoes spotted near O'Hare International Airport sent a multitude of travelers into the moving walkway between the United Terminal.
Current look at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Shelter in place for several tornadoes! Stay safe out there🤍 pic.twitter.com/Tb8cCEd1uY
— Hannah Follman (@HannahFollmanTV) July 13, 2023
When she took this video, Hannah Follman, a morning reporter for FOX59/CBS4 Indianapolis, was trying to catch a flight to London. She was on the plane when officials ordered everybody off to take shelter as a tornado was spotted nearby.
"It was definitely a crazy flight," Follman said. "We had actually already boarded the airplane before the tornadoes were in the area."
She said the pilot had hoped to beat the weather. Then a few minutes later, a flight attendant told everybody to get off the plane immediately and seek shelter.
The flight attendant said, "Everyone get your belongings, you need to get off the plane immediately," Follman said. "It was just a rush."
Follman said getting everybody into a safe place took about 15 to 20 minutes. Aside from a few moments of pushing and shoving, the crowd was generally well-behaved.
CBS 2's Marybel Gonzalez also spoke with one passenger who was stuck on the tarmac for two hours as the storm rolled through.
"Some people yelling, pretty crabby," said Reese Stanford. "I think overall, people were pretty good, but I think it was just that concern of we're sitting out in the open and everyone else has evacuated."
CBS 2 was told passengers already boarded were eventually given the choice to get off the plane. Many of them, like Stanford, missed their connecting flights due to the delays.
As of 9 p.m., there were 333 flights canceled on Wednesday at O'Hare and 35 at Midway.