Severe Storms Causing Winter-Like Delays At MSP Airport
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The severe thunderstorms that rolled through the Twin Cities have caused some major problems at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
"It's actually quite similar to a snow storm, which kind of surprised me." said Melissa Scovronski, airport spokeswoman. "I didn't realize we were going to have so much weather today."
Early Friday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) delayed flights "on and off" at MSP for two-and-a-half hours.
"Right now, what we're seeing is a lot of backup," said Scovronski.
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At around 3:30 p.m. Friday, there were 60 to 70 flights delayed.
"That could get worse depending on weather coming in the next couple of hours," said Scovronski.
Some airlines have canceled flights.
Jane Hathaway from Eau Claire, Wis. is heading to Denver to see her son. Her flight on Frontier was canceled and she's now been booked on a United flight the leaves Saturday morning.
Hathaway's big suitcase had been returned and she was given a voucher to stay a motel for discounted price, but is choosing to stay at the airport.
"I'm just going to sit here and try to rest," said Hathaway. "I wouldn't sleep in a hotel anyways. I don't want to spend the money."
Scovronski say, in the next few hours airlines will see how many flights they can handle for the rest of the day. They could decide to cancel some Friday night.
"Maybe some of the very late flights that are scheduled for 9 or 10 o'clock at night, they may have to stay overnight and rebook in the morning," said Scovronski.
Officials say the best thing to do is get online at mspairport.com or call ahead to see your flight status before leaving.
