Air travelers who had their flights canceled or delayed in the first few days of the new year because of a winter storm in the mid-Atlantic are not the only ones.
More than 4,700 flights were grounded worldwide as of early evening on Monday, according to tracking service FlightAware. About 5,800 flights were delayed in the US.
Travelers could take some hope from the forecast. About 400 U.S. flights were canceled on Tuesday.
They had to contend with a winter storm that was expected to bring 10 inches of snow to the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and central Maryland.
Travelers trying to get home after the holiday were made to suffer delays and cancelations.
"It was so chaotic that I had to sleep for two nights at Denver International Airport," said Enos, who was on her way from Washington to San Francisco.
When she landed in Denver, she didn't know that her connecting flight to California had been canceled. At the height of the new wave of Covid-19, she rushed to find alternative flights and navigate through a baggage-claim area that was crowded with other stranded and confused travelers.
The 28-year-old financial analyst said that it was a lot of people in a small space. A lot of kids were exhausted and some families were stressed out.
The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases of Covid-19 in the US has tripled over the past two weeks, according to figures from the University.
The number of flights that were grounded in the U.S. soared past 1,000 a day as airlines blamed the H1N1 virus for crew shortages.
A winter storm that hit the Midwest on Saturday caused airlines to cancel more flights than usual.
More than 9000 flights were canceled worldwide over the weekend. Many of the cancelations were made a day or two in advance. When there are disruptions such as snow or storms, airlines believe they have a better chance of keeping their schedules on track.
Southwest Airlines had canceled 605 flights by early evening. The spokesman said storms over the weekend and Monday affected operations at some of its biggest airports, including Chicago Midway, Denver and Baltimore.
Customers can change their flights to and from Baltimore and Washington.
SkyWest, a regional carrier that operates flights under the names American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, grounded 368 flights Monday after scrubbing 500 on Sunday.
The authority that runs Detroit International Airport in Michigan said they were working around the clock to remove snow and maintain the airfield. Atlanta's airport authority advised travelers to arrive earlier than usual because of high passenger volume, potential weather issues, and staffing shortages that could shorten the time it takes to get through security gates.
Hawaiian Airlines had to cancel flights between islands and across the Pacific due to staffing shortages.
Airlines are paying bonuses to pilots and flight attendants to pick up empty flights. United will pay pilots triple their usual wages for picking up open flights. Flight attendants will be paid double through Tuesday after a deal was reached with the union.
