LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At airports across the U.S., passengers continue to face grounded flights and soaring frustrations, and the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport is no exception.
According to FlightAware, flight cancellation reached 16 at SDF—all Southwest flights—as of noon on Wednesday. There were also 20 delays at that time.
An airport spokesperson said between Monday and Tuesday, Southwest Airlines canceled 11 of its 12 scheduled departures. The airline also canceled seven arrivals, according to Flight Aware.
By 5 a.m. Wednesday, early flight passengers were greeted by lines totaling the hundreds.
One of those travelers, Austin Gregory, said his 1 p.m. flight Wednesday was his fourth attempt in two days at making it to a work obligation in California.
“I’m on my way to do a pretty important job. I work on laser cutting systems. I cannot decommission this laser design,” Gregory said. “I'm so late, I don't know if we can get the job done, but I’ve got to try it. There’s lots of money riding on this.”
Gregory said if all else fails, he may be forced to hit the road and fly out of another airport.
Another stranded passenger, Amber Johnson, said she, her five-year-old son and boyfriend were supposed to arrive back home in Orlando on Dec. 23.
“It has just become a snowball effect. We're ready to get home,” Johnson said. “We're tired and exhausted. I've never ever been in a situation like this ever.”
Johnson said her Spirit Airlines flight was canceled on Christmas Eve due to the inclement weather conditions. Her family was able to rebook an evening flight for Tuesday, Dec. 27. After a two hour delay, Johnson said her family saw people walking off the plane as well as the pilots.
“There's nobody there to fly the plane. We were told to get our checked bags, and that the TSA was closed,” she said. “They said there was going to be no more flights going out for the night.”
Johnson said her family was stranded, and had to sleep on an airport bench Tuesday night.
“I'm gonna let [my] little guy sleep as much as I can, but we didn't really sleep to be honest,” she said. “We didn't sleep at all. I feel like I've just been up all night.”
Johnsons said another flight has been rebooked for Tuesday night but she isn’t going to take the risk. Instead, her family is opting to rent a car to drive 13 hours back home to Florida. She said the decision pitted finances against convenience.
“It's just super expensive for three people to fly last minute, and the other option was to get a rental car,” Johnson said. “It’s a long drive, and with a child, it adds a little extra stress but we just want to get home.”
A Louisville airport spokesperson said staff continues to see delays and cancellations, and they encourage anyone traveling, especially Southwest, to monitor their flight statuses far in advance.
Across the U.S., airlines have canceled 4,579 flights as of 12 p.m. Wednesday, according to FlightAware. Of those cancellations, it reports 62% are Southwest Airline flights.