Hundreds Of Cadets Experience Difficult Travel Day Sunday
DENVER (CBS4) - Hundreds of cadets from the Air Force Academy had a rough day of travel on the busiest day of this year's Thanksgiving travel weekend.
Fog on Sunday morning prevented 46 flights from landing at Denver International Airport, and many more flights were delayed during the day.
"I got delayed for like 6 hours," said one cadet late in the day. "It was miserable."
A transportation company serving the academy said 200 cadets were diverted from Denver to the airport in Colorado Springs, which is only a few miles from the academy grounds. Then they sat on the tarmac for hours.
After that, they were flown back to Denver.
One cadet told CBS4 he had to scramble to find a ride to the academy after arriving late in Denver. He said he had to call his superior officer and tell him that he might miss curfew.
Kenadee Walker, who is applying to be a cadet, landed just in time at DIA and then waited for hours for a fellow cadet candidate to arrive.
"It turns out his flight got delayed and he landed in Nebraska. So we are waiting for him to arrive so we can finally go back and get some sleep," Walker said.
The fog rolled in at approximately 9:30 a.m. at DIA. CBS4 meteorologist Dave Aguilera said within 30 minutes visibility dropped from 10 miles to a fourth of a mile.
"There's stuff you can't change and you've just got to roll with the punches sometimes," Walker said.
About 157,000 people are expected to fly in and out of DIA on Monday. Weather wasn't causing any issues on Monday morning, but there were about 10 flights that were delayed for other reasons.