Christmas may be over, but the travel chaos is still here. Thousands of holiday flights had to be cancelled this last weekend, and the ripple effects of those cancellations are still very visible. “I don’t know what to do, the only flights are way too expensive, and we’re stuck,” said one upset traveler. “By the time I reach home, it’s going to be night time, and Christmas dinner will be over,” said another frustrated traveler. But the travelling problems don’t just apply to people flying. Triple A anticipates the days leading to the New Year will have some of the worst traffic of any other time this year, as millions try to return home before the New Year.
Christmas may be over, but the travel chaos is still here.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers are stuck in limbo as last weekend's brutal winter storm stalled, if not canceled thousands of flights.
"We've been stuck a good 18 hours now," said a traveler at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Over 2,600 flights were canceled on the day of Christmas, which is already on top of nearly 3,500 flights that were canceled on Christmas Eve.
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"I don't know what to do," said another traveler at O'Hare, in tears. "The only flights are way too expensive, and we're stuck."
O'Hare and Denver International Airport have seen the most delays of anywhere else in the country, pushing back departure times on more than 500 flights combined.
Cancellations are rampant as well. An arctic blast caused an airport in Atlanta to cancel 300 flights.
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"I'm very sad," said a frustrated traveler. "By the time I reach home, it's going to be nighttime. And Christmas dinner is going to be over."
But for those who did get to their destinations on time for the holidays, they're about to embark on one of the busiest travel days of the year as they return home.
The American Automobile Association anticipates heavy traffic on Dec. 27, Dec. 28, and Jan. 2, as millions who drove somewhere for Christmas try to make it home before the New Year.
