Winter Storm Takes Toll On Chicago Airports
Updated 12/29/15 - 7:55 a.m.
(CBS) – Emotions were running high at O'Hare International Airport early Tuesday, a day after hundreds of flights were canceled due to a winter storm.
Overnight, thousands of passengers crowded the airport, trying to figure out their next move. Some people were told they might not get a flight out until Thursday.
Nearly 1,360 flights were canceled at O'Hare on Monday, as a mix of sleet, snow, and freezing rain fell in Chicago. Another 300 flights were canceled at Midway International Airport.
Even more flights were being canceled Tuesday morning. As of 7:40 a.m., airlines at O'Hare had canceled another 245 flights, and airlines at Midway had canceled about two dozen. Both airports were reporting minor delays.
After a fun and festive holiday weekend in Chicago, many travelers were upset at being stranded at the airport.
"They cancel our flight five minutes before it's supposed to … well, actually, our flight was at 5:30, and then it's 10 o'clock, and they cancel it, and now they won't let us speak to someone," one furious passenger said late Monday night as she tried to get more information at a ticket counter.
Hundreds of people spent the night on cots at O'Hare, after they couldn't get a hotel room, either because hotels were too expensive, or already fully booked.
With so many canceled flights, airlines are now backlogged, telling some people the soonest they can get another seat on a flight out of Chicago is Thursday.
Crews spent the night clearing snow off the tarmac and runway, and de-icing planes. One passenger said the ordeal has been frustrating.
"They won't let us go back in [to the terminal], because they can't be responsible for our bags. We said 'What do we do?' They said 'There's nothing we can do. There's no hotels, because it's weather-related, it's not our fault,'" Eva Hachikian said. "They gave us this voucher. I have been calling. The website is down. It's hung up on me three times. I'm on hold for about 20 minutes, and it's a discount, maybe, but a discounted hotel in Chicago is probably twice as much as I can afford right now."
Mary McNally said she's losing half her vacation waiting to get out of Chicago.
"The soonest I can get out is Thursday, so three days from now, which I get it, we're all in the same situation, but at the same time, I'm trying to go visit family, and that's four of seven days into what would have been my original trip, so I don't really know what to do anymore," she said.