A deadly winter storm across much of the United States is causing a ripple effect of flight delays and cancellations for holiday travelers all over America. Flight tracking company FlightAware reported that among flights within, into or out of the United States on Saturday, there were 7,956 delays and 3,486 cancellations.
While the Bay Area didn't experience the harsh, cold weather much of the country was dealing with on Christmas Eve, Bay Area travelers were certainly feeling the impacts of that weather. In the afternoon on Saturday, San Francisco International Airport reported to NBC Bay Area that it had 99 cancellations and 182 delays so far that day.
"Unfortunately, we're feeling the effects from what's going on back east and around the country because of the weather," a public information officer with San Jose International Airport told NBC Bay Area on Saturday. The public information officer noted that SJC has approximately 323 flights in and out each day, and by Saturday afternoon the airport reported 52 cancellations and 76 delays that day.
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"Seattle and Portland got hit again, so we're seeing a significant number [of delays and cancellations] for an airport that doesn't usually have a lot of cancellations," the public information officer said.
FlightAware reported that a total of 70 U.S. flights were delayed and 54 flights were canceled at Oakland International Airport on Saturday.
With these travel snags arriving over Christmas weekend, it's not just spoiled holiday plans at stake. For many travelers, there is a significant amount of money, time and emotion on the line.
At SFO on Saturday, tell-tale lines of worried-looking travelers snaked around airline ticket counters each time a flight got canceled. Some passengers wandering around SFO were in tears, some were lying face down on airport furniture in exhaustion and others said they said they hadn't slept in more than a day due to their travel woes.
Even if their flights weren't canceled, many passengers who spoke with NBC Bay Area had seen their flights delayed.
Paige Dunham, who traveled to SFO from South Carolina, said she felt lucky to have only been delayed a few hours, noting, "a lot of people on my flight were like 'I’ve been traveling since yesterday.'"
Rudy Hernandez of Tracy was waiting at SFO to pick up relatives who were flying in from New York.
"They were scheduled to be here at 3:30 p.m., then that got pushed back to 4:30 and then it got pushed back to 5:30,” Hernandez explained.
Antoinette Smith, who had just finished her contract working as a travel nurse in the Bay Area and was scheduled to fly home to Atlanta with her husband and 6-year-old grandson, explained that her Saturday flight had been canceled, leaving them all stranded at the airport.
“I am from Atlanta, Georgia, I am trying to get home to my family, and I can’t do that until Wednesday, so I have no idea what we’re gonna do,” Smith said, exasperated.
She explained that she arrived with her husband and her grandson at SFO at 8 a.m. Saturday with tickets for a Southwest Airlines flight from SFO to San Diego, then from San Diego to Atlanta. Smith said last week she had even adjusted their flights in hopes of dodging ripple effects of this expected winter storm.
Saturday afternoon, Smith said their flights were delayed several times, then passengers were told they were waiting on the pilot, then passengers were told the entire flight was canceled. Smith said she waited in line for two hours to speak to the Southwest ticket counter. When she finally was able to speak with a representative, Smith said she was told because she was traveling with three people, the soonest flights they could rebook to Atlanta were on December 28. Smith also said she was told she wouldn't receive a voucher for food or a hotel.
"All they told me was they’re sorry," Smith said of the Southwest agents. "That’s not gonna help me because we’re gonna sleep on your floor tonight. We’ll probably be here for three days."
Smith said she couldn't afford a hotel and that she didn't know anyone in the Bay Area who she could stay with. Plus, she was growing worried that the ice keeping her insulin cold was melting after a full day of waiting in the airport. Smith had been working in the Bay Area since September and had three month's worth of belongings with her in the airport.
But, fortunately, her family won't be sleeping on the floor at the airport.
Someone saw NBC Bay Area's post on social media about Smith and her family and booked them a hotel room until their flight out.
By Saturday evening, Smith's Insulin was back on ice and the stranger who came to their aid brought a Christmas present for their grandson and took the whole family grocery shopping. Smith says she is extremely grateful.
Southwest Airlines replied to NBC Bay Area's request for comment Sunday saying:
"We apologize to all of our Customers who have been disrupted from Winter Storm Elliott’s effects on our operation over the past few days. We are optimistic with the better forecast that things will begin to improve soon."
The Southwest Airlines representative went on to say, "In certain cases, especially in airports we serve where operations have been considerably affected, we have worked to provide accommodations to Customers."
The Southwest Airlines representative also sent NBC Bay Area a link to its customer service plan, pointing to section 12 about services to mitigate customer inconveniences. The plan outlines that Southwest may offer customers vouchers for food or lodgings upon request for flight delays or cancellations that are within the airline's control. The Southwest Customer Service Plan states that for delays or cancellations caused by weather or other events "not within our control," Southwest does not cover lodging however "we will seek to arrange a discount off of a lodging accommodation near the airport."
The Department of Transportation says when an airline cancels a flight, airlines are not required to cover passenger's lodging or provide a food voucher, though some airlines may choose to offer those accommodations for stranded passengers
Southwest did issue a statement on its website Saturday saying that more than half of the airports where it operates in the continental U.S. are under duress during this storm.
"We appreciate our Customers' patience and apologize for inconveniences as we work to get them to their destinations as quickly and safely as possible this holiday," the airline wrote on its website Saturday.
For flights to, from, and within the U.S., if an airline cancels your flight and you choose not to travel, federal rules say you are entitled to a refund. If you bring an issue forward to an airline and the airline does not help you, you can file a complaint with the Department of Transportation here.
