Thunderstorms and staffing shortages have caused hundreds of delayed flights a day a couple of times in recent weeks. | Nick Morales/Unsplash
Thunderstorms and staffing shortages have caused hundreds of delayed flights a day a couple of times in recent weeks. | Nick Morales/Unsplash
Flights out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport are still having a tough time getting off the ground. Last week, the second week in a row, several hundred flights were delayed or canceled in one day.
Most of the problems have been attributed to weather and staffing shortages, but that doesn’t ease the pain for stranded travelers.
“It’s just been a nightmare to get home,” flier Kathleen Marseil said in a recent WBTV report. She had been talking with another traveler who told her he never wanted to fly again, and she said she could relate.
Saturday saw 600 flights delayed and 50 cancelled. Those problems occurred less than a week after July 31, when about 500 flights were delayed in one day.
The frustrations pile on top of one another. Long lines to get anything done and long waits with nothing but airport food to sustain them. Then at the end of their journey, they have to deal with longer wait times to pick up luggage.
“My wife and kids are all at the hotel that we had to pay for, and now I’ve come back to pick up the bags ‘cause it was a two-hour wait to get our bags,” traveler Nathan Stokes said.
Charlotte has been hit hard with the recent thunderstorm activity, accounting for 10% of the 6,000 delays nationwide, the report said, citing data from Flight Aware.
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