Airports hit with delays, some cancellations as heavy rain arrives during peak Thanksgiving weekend travel
NEWARK, N.J. -- The post-Thanksgiving holiday travel for many has been anything but smooth sailing.
As CBS2's Kevin Rincon reported Sunday, countless flights in and out of the Tri-State Area were delayed because of the rain -- and driving hasn't been that much better.
The exhaustion was seen on people's faces at Newark Liberty International Airport. Getting home is the part of the holiday travel so many dread -- the long lines, the delays, and, yes, a lot of it is to be expected, but that doesn't make it any easier.
"We're tired. We're ready to go home," one traveler said.
By the time he gets home, he will have sat in his car for more than 12 hours.
"The weather was bad all the way from Massachusetts, the raining. New York drivers are insane," the man said.
As drivers worked to refuel both their cars and themselves at the Vince Lombardi rest stop, their experiences on the roads are a shared one.
"It was heavy in Connecticut from Bridgeport all the way to the New York line. Then it let up a little bit. Then it was heavy traffic all through New York," said a man named Dean, who was traveling from Massachusetts.
"Been in there for four hours, I think. The traffic is really backed up, going so slow," another person said.
"It's not very nice, but I'm glad to be going home," said a person traveling from Pennsylvania to Vermont.
"I just wanted to see my friends and family and stuff like that. It was great to see them, but maybe next time I'm not going to do that," said Eric Schumacher of Harrington Park, New Jersey, who traveling to Ocean City, Maryland.
Flight Trackers
Area airports have been been busy.
"I'm going to crash as soon as I get home," a traveler said.
Passengers flying in and out of Newark Liberty have experienced a little bit of everything.
"Exhausting, honestly, because our most recent flight had a two-hour delay at the very start because there was a storm here," one person said.
"I had a six-hour layover, so that was very, very exhausting," college student Hiya Mitra added. "Turbulence because of the storm made anxiety shoot up, but we made it. Tired, can't wait to get back."
There have also been some cancellations, which go beyond anyone's control.
"I checked in early. I'm just carrying carry-ons instead of checked in luggage, so I tried to do the best I could," one person said. "Now I'm stuck here without any help."
While he worked to find another flight, some at Newark Liberty got lucky.
"My friends were saying it was going to busy at the airport and to get there early, so I did. But I had a lot of spare time once I got to my gate," said one man who was traveling from Seattle.
"I thought there was going to be a little bit more lines, but it didn't really bother me too much," said another man also traveling from Seattle.
Delays were an issue Sunday, as about 1 in 4 flights had to be pushed back at area airports, and the expectation is things will remain busy at airports and on the roads for the next couple of days as things return to normal.