COLORADO SPRINGS — According to the Associated Press, more than 3,000 flights were canceled in the United States on Monday. It's the most cancellations on any given day during this holiday season. Now, some travelers to and from the Colorado Springs Airport are being impacted.
"I had a very short delay on my trip out and that was about 20 minutes, which was no problem at all," said Gwen Williams, an airport traveler leaving Colorado Springs. "My daughter flew in on January 1, and her plane was delayed for about an hour, and she knew in advance."
A spokesperson with the Colorado Springs Airport says 8 departing flights were canceled on Monday. Four were for crew issues, one was for maintenance, and three were for other reasons. Three flights were also delayed.
Flight cancellations and delays began to pick up during the week of Christmas. Bad weather, the spread of the omicron variant, and airlines dealing with staffing shortages because of COVID are the majority of the reasons why.
"I think it's always frustrating, but what are you going to do? You're going to book your next flight you can get on, and get home as soon as possible," said Ryan Hazelwood, the News Director at KOAA 5.
Hazelwood's original flight from Milwaukee was canceled early Monday morning. He found out about the cancellation while still at the Airbnb he was staying at.
"We were supposed to be flying from Milwaukee to Denver and found out that flight was canceled. So my wife got on the phone, and got us another flight going from Milwaukee to Chicago Midway, and from Midway to Colorado Springs," said Hazelwood. "We were able to get to the airport for our second flight, our bags were checked, we'd eaten some food at one of the restaurants, and then got the notification 30 minutes before it was time to board, that the second flight was canceled as well."
During the holiday season, passengers have spent hours at the airport or even hours on the phone with airlines, just hoping to catch the next flight home. In Hazelwood's case, he was on the phone with airlines for nearly two hours.
The spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Airport also mentioned most of the cancellations and delays locally are with Southwest, United, and American Airlines.
"We were an hour + on the tarmac. I believe one of the control towers was closed because of lack of staff," said Stephen Tally, another traveler at the Colorado Springs Airport. However, his delayed flight was out of Dallas coming to the Springs last Wednesday. "It's understandable. There's been a lot of delays between crew and weather."
At last check from the Denver Intentional Airport, there were more than 300 flight delays on Monday, and more than 200 cancellations.
FlightAware.com says about 18,000 U.S flights have been canceled since Christmas Eve.
