PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Sunday’s severe weather left behind a big mess for travelers at Philadelphia International Airport. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed, and many passengers had to wait hours to receive their luggage.
Some were stranded at the airport and slept on the floor at baggage claim. Nearly 200 flights were canceled and about 400 were delayed in and out of Philadelphia on Sunday. The terminals were packed as frustrated passengers waited for flights that never got off the ground or stuck around for bags that never arrived.
“We were joking, is it going to descend into ‘Lord of the Flies’? How bad is it gonna get?” said Lynn Morton, who had visited Europe and was trying to fly back to Nashville. Her connection in Philadelphia was canceled. Early Monday morning, as she waited for her luggage at the American Airlines baggage office, she said she had not slept for around 30 hours.
“[The airline] gave us vouchers but the vouchers were worthless because there were no hotels remaining,” she said. “I called while we were waiting in line and was on hold for four and a half hours and never got through.”
Leonie, a nurse practitioner from Lancaster, traveled from Nashville to Philadelphia. Her flight was delayed several times. She finally arrived late Sunday but could not retrieve her bags. She stuck around through Monday morning and had to cancel appointments at her clinic because she did not get any rest.
“It happens, the weather happens, we get it,” she said. “But just let us know so that we can then move on with our lives.”
Dozens of bags were lined up at baggage claim Monday morning, as many travelers decided to continue forward to their destinations instead of waiting for their bags.
Similar issues with American Airlines left passengers frustrated a week ago. As of Monday morning, the airline has yet to respond to KYW Newsradio’s request for comment.
The travel mess comes as airport officials expect a large volume of passengers for the Fourth of July. From July 1 to 7, Philadelphia International officials project nearly 700,000 passengers will fly in and out of the airport — a 26% jump compared to the same period in 2023 and 8% higher than the holiday period in 2019, when the airport set a record for volume during the year.