PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — There were big problems Monday morning at Philadelphia International Airport, after storms rolled through the region Sunday night. At least 37 flights were cancelled and just as many were delayed, according to tracking website Flight Aware. Some travelers have been waiting to claim their luggage since Sunday night.
A traveler from Croatia told KYW newsgathering partner NBC10 she was on her flight at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, ready to depart, when she and all passengers were told to get off the plane.
"We were waiting for ... I don't know how many hours. At almost two in the morning, they told us the flight is delayed and they can't do anything about it, because of the weather," she said.
"But the weather was later okay, as we all saw."
Airport officials lay the blame on lightning. When it occurs near the airport, all outdoor operations are halted for a time, they say.
Airport spokesperson Heather Redfern said airlines are responsible for baggage:
"Because baggage is handled by the airlines, the airport can’t speak on behalf of their operations, and you need to reach out to them.
"We can confirm that there [were] weather issues that impacted PHL last night that could have caused delays in crews being able to get bags off of planes and to passengers as quickly as they would have liked. When there is [lightning] within 5-8 miles of the airport, activity on the airfield, including baggage loading and unloading, is often paused until 30 minutes after the last lightening strike by airlines."