Drenching Rains Cause Flooding, Delays At Fort Lauderdale's Airport
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - The lines at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport began to form well before passengers got to the terminals.
Overnight rain flood streets at the airport and the surrounding area, forcing the temporary closure of the terminals. Some travelers said getting through flooded roadways made for a long ride.
"It literally took us 30 minutes to go across the loop de loop that goes into the airport," said Rebecca Ludy, "Our Uber was so annoyed because he had to sit through all the traffic."
Ludy was stuck for a while. When she finally got to the airport, she learned that it had been closed from 3 a.m. to about 6 a.m. She said the flight status boards listed a number of delayed flights and there were long lines at the counters.
"It's a long line, oh my God, like two hours probably to be in this line. It's very, very long and we just want to go to Michigan already to get home for Christmas," she said.
Joan Cadogan was heading to New York, she said she felt pretty lucky. Her flight was only delayed an hour. She said that was relatively good news after what she had already been through just trying to get to the airport.
"The day's been long because we had to do some detours, go around to get here. Of course, the flooding, the traffic, and there was an accident so it took quite a while to where we are now," she said.
Zanona Anderson was supposed to be on a flight home to Minneapolis Sunday night. After her flight was delayed because of a mechanical problem, the storm ended up keeping her in South Florida overnight with no possibility of getting out until sometime Monday afternoon.
"I'm frustrated, I can't have any sleep. I'm so tired. It's okay, I'm surviving." Anderson said with a laugh.
More than seven inches of rain fell over the airport, leaving parts of the airfield flooded as well as roadways in the area. The north runway had to be closed because of so much standing water. Passengers coming and going can expect a day filled with delays.
"The delays will continue until the airlines are able to get out the flights they need to, so that's a situation where if anyone is traveling today they need to check with their airline and the flight status," said airport spokeswoman Arlene Satchell.
Ebony Sherard just returned from a cruise with her family. After getting to the airport they learned they're flight got delayed. But before they can get on any flight, they'll wait it out in the check luggage line a few hours before their flight.
"We just got the notification that our 5:59 p.m. departure to Raleigh, North Carolina has now been delayed until 7, so, yeah, it's going to be a long day," she said.
Many are looking for the silver lining as they wait, like Maggie Stack.
"Well I have my sweet daughter and son-in-law with me so it's been perfect, they're just bringing me. I'm going home to Walla Walla," she said.