Flights Canceled At MSP-Airport For 2nd Day
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- The massive snowstorm that's paralyzed a large swath of the country from Chicago to New York has caused dozens of flight cancellations at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for a second day in a row.
Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan tells Minnesota Public Radio that Chicago is the No. 1 destination from the Twin Cities, so the storm is having a major impact at MSP because very few flights are going to make it in or out of Chicago Wednesday.
Hogan says five flights that were supposed to land in Chicago Tuesday were diverted to the Twin Cities, but most passengers got hotel rooms and relatively few travelers spend the night at the airport.
There aren't a lot of people waiting around in the airport to catch a flight either. Most people know if their flight has been canceled, but a few are stranded in Minneapolis.
Judy Kleinhouse and her husband were supposed to catch a flight Tuesday night, but it was canceled.
"So far our flight is on time but we're thinking when we get to the gate they may cancel again ... but we'll stay optimistic," she said.
Kleinhouse and her husband are trying to get home to La Crosse, Wis. They might have better luck than people trying to get to the East Coast.
Most of the flights canceled at MSP are to Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee, New York and other cities on the east coast.
Hogan said the snow storm is causing a ripple effect and there are sporadic cancellations and flight delays to other cities across the country.
"One of the issues is that some of these planes that aren't able to make it from snow impacted airports to others, then (they) aren't in place to go to sunny destinations as they normally would. So, there are people flying places that you wouldn't think would be impacted, but they are because the planes aren't there to take them on," he said.
Hogan says if you have a trip planned in the next couple of days -- no matter where you're going -- call the airline before you leave to make sure everything is a go.
He thinks it will be a couple of days for things to get back to normal.
Otherwise operations are normal at the Minneapolis airport, where it's mostly sunny Wednesday.
(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
