More flight cancellations, delays impact thousands of KCI Airport travelers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of travelers trying to get out of Kansas City International Airport on Monday were hit with delays and cancellations.
Some waited hours in a long-stretched line trying to get answers from the Southwest Airlines ticket counter.
“I’m upset, and I’m stressed,” mother of two young travelers Stacy Gaskins said. “I just want to get them to their father's for Christmas, and it’s already stressful enough putting them on a flight with a childcare assistant that you don’t know.”
Gaskins wasn’t the only traveler with frustrations in Monday’s Southwest ticket line. Scott Bronson visited family in Kansas City for the holidays but found out on Christmas night his flight to Phoenix had been canceled.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen today, not very confident,” Bronson said. “Just hope it gets better, hoping for all these people it gets better. It’s a bad day.”
Other travelers like Jennifer Grabill were hoping to escape the cold Midwest for a warmer climate, but a canceled flight halted those plans as well. She wasn’t confident that a new flight would be scheduled and said they’re now looking to rebook sometime next year.
“We kept calling and you can’t through to anybody, and it’s just like everyone else in this whole line. We’re just kind of stuck,” Grabill said. “I just feel so bad because there’s so many people trying to get to family they needed for Christmas.”
Tatum Trysla dances at the University of North Carolina and was on her way to perform at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. But Monday afternoon, she was looking at alternatives and wasn’t sure if she’d make it all.
"Flights are crazy expensive though so figure out how much that would be, if it’s worth it to try to get there maybe a day late to perform, but I don’t know. I don’t know,” Trysla said.
FOX4 reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment on all the delays and cancellations; officials with the airline said consecutive days of extreme winter weather impacted their systems. They are working with safety in mind first to get crews and flights back on times.
Southwest said it's expecting flight changes to continue through the New Year holiday.