Travelers at South Florida's airports met with long lines, delays, cancelations
MIAMI - Throngs of travelers at South Florida's airport are being met with long lines, delays, and in some instances canceled flights due to a winter blast across the midwest.
As of noon Friday, 202 flights domestic had been delayed and 36 were canceled at Miami International Airport. At Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International, 147 domestic flights were delayed and 66 were canceled.
"We've been hearing a lot of flights have been canceled so we're a little nervous about getting home," Galaxina Wright waiting for a flight at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International.
Dennis Reyes arrived at Miami International early Friday morning in preparation for a 6 a.m. flight, he then got some bad news.
"To Atlanta, it's delayed a couple hours. We planned to go eat somewhere just to stay around," said.
Then he got more bad news - the delay turned into a cancelation. Reyes said he's considering driving to Atlanta to make it home in time.
Clint Henderson, of ThePointsGuy.com, said the winter weather represents unfortunate timing for travelers.
"The storms right now are perfectly timed by Mother Nature to mess up the holiday travel period," he said.
Henderson said travelers need to stay a step ahead and be ready to take action when bad weather threatens to complicate their travel plans.
"Track your flight," he said. "Then if you see it's going to get canceled, get on the airline app and try to rebook yourself. At the same time, you're calling on the phone to customer service and you're walking to the service line at the airport to try to get rebooked."
If you're flying on Friday, get to the airport three hours before your departure time for domestic flights and three and a half hours for international flights. Check in online before you arrive at the airport.
Friday is expected to be the busiest travel day before the Christmas holiday on area highways.
According to officials, 5.8 million people are expected to take to the state's roadways for holiday travel.
AAA suggests driving early in the morning or later in the evening.
And travelers who are on the road or on the water should be aware that law enforcement officers are planning to be on high alert for impaired or aggressive drivers.
