Northeast winter storm, unrest in Mexico cause headaches for travelers at the Atlanta airport
It is a tough day for air travel at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as the winter storm in the Northeast grounded thousands of flights, the unrest in Mexico limited air travel to several airports, and Delta Air Lines recovered from a technical glitch that hindered check-in and boarding.
As of 5 p.m. EST, there have been 250 delays into or out of the Atlanta airport and over 230 cancellations, according to FlightAware.
The winter storm has most flights into and out of the Northeast United States delayed or canceled.
One flyer tried to avoid the storm by leaving Atlanta earlier than originally scheduled.
"I'm going to beat the snow and leave Sunday 4:30 after my appointment, right? And then everything was cool, I beat it, everything was cool, and then my app popped up and said my flight was cancelled before the snow even started," said Rizzo King, a traveler trying to return to Philadelphia.
That cancellation was due to a technical glitch that hindered Delta's check-in and boarding process on Sunday. Another passenger tells CBS News Atlanta reporter Madeline Montgomery her flight was delayed nearly two hours due to the glitch.
A spokesperson for Delta Airlines says the technical issue was resolved on Monday morning.
Traveler Betty Hewell didn't see snow impacting her.
"Here we are in Atlanta, the largest airport in the world, trying to get back to Austin, which is also a sizable airport, so I really don't see why there should be any delays," said Hewell.
But her flight delay became a cancellation.
"It is a little frustrating since I'm coming from Georgia, going back to Texas, and there are no weather issues here or in Texas, so a little disappointed in this airline," Hewell said.
There may be no weather issue, but there is plenty of turbulence just south of Texas in Mexico.
"All of a sudden, I see this black smoke come up, and I hear a few shots, it sounded like guns," said Taniel Chemsian, who lives in Puerto Vallarta.
Chemsian flew home early to Puerto Vallarta from Nashville, landing in civil unrest after a military operation led to the death of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.
"Thank goodness I did come in on Friday, because if I was to come in on Sunday, which is what I was originally thinking, the airport obviously shut down, there's nowhere to land. And they're having issues in Guadalajara as well," he said.
The unrest in Mexico caused a Delta flight from Detroit to Puerto Vallarta to divert to Alabama on Sunday. Those passengers were rebooked and returned to Detroit.
A Hartsfield-Jackson spokesperson says, despite the flight cancellations and delays, the airport hasn't reached a point where it needs to bring in additional staff.
