More than 800 flights delayed at Denver International Airport on Tuesday after morning snowstorm
Hundreds of flight delays at Denver International Airport on Tuesday made it difficult for travelers to fly to and from the area a day after Christmas. It also comes after Tuesday morning's snowstorm swept across Colorado.
At last check, DIA had more delays and cancellations than any other airport in the country on Tuesday, with more than 800 incoming and outgoing flights delayed. More than 20 flights have also been canceled. That's according to Flight Aware.
The day after Christmas is also one of the busiest days of the year to travel. Airport staff at DIA estimate about 80,000 travelers were expected to go through TSA checkpoints throughout the day.
"It's busy, a lot of young families, a lot of people with a lot of luggage, so it's a nightmare," said Stephen Bonacci, who was traveling from Washington, D.C.
"It's been pretty crazy, but definitely worth the travel, and we have a bunch of stuff, so we're just trying to hustle through and get back home," said Hannan Zafar, who was traveling to Houston.
Most of the travel impacts were early Tuesday morning. A ground stop was issued for DIA for part of the morning around 7 a.m. and no incoming flights were coming in around that time. That ground stop was lifted shortly after.
Throughout the day, security checkpoints also saw wait times of up to 30 minutes.
Many people were happy to be back home after the holidays. Meanwhile, Bonacci was just happy to make it to his winter vacation in Colorado, after traveling here last Christmas.
"Last year, I got caught up in the Southwest debacle, and it took me a good 24 hours to get out here," said Bonacci, who added it was a better traveling experience than last year, but he still had to short wait, after arriving to Denver. "I was optimistic, hoping I could get up to the mountains earlier, but that didn't happen."
Around 600,000 passengers are expected to travel through Denver around the Christmas holiday. Throughout the day on Tuesday, many people can still expect longer than usual wait times. If you are flying out of DIA, it's encouraged to get to the airport with enough time to spare.
Continue to check with airlines you're flying with, for updated information on delays and cancellations.
Meanwhile, others like Zafar, are hoping they don't run into any issues: "It's packed, but hopefully we haven't run into any delays or anything like that, but we'll see how it goes."