Maryland travelers pack patience as they return from holiday destinations

Travelers are packing Maryland's roads, rails and skies once again, returning home from their holiday destinations before the new year.

The storm system in the Midwest and Great Lakes is proving problematic, even for travelers trying to get out of Maryland. 

A family told WJZ they are trying to get home to Minnesota but had to rebook twice just to get out in the morning.

"I have hundreds of thousands of miles in the air, this is the first time I've ever had it canceled for a weather," said Bret Bussman, who was visiting family in Maryland and was trying to get to Minnesota on Sunday.

TSA says it predicted the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's Day as its busiest day nationwide with traveler volume at 2.8 million. BWI says it predicted its busiest day to be Monday, Dec. 23.

Winter weather in the Midwest is cancelling and delaying flights, even in Baltimore. 

"The blizzard blew into Minnesota, and the flight has been canceled. I'm trying to find another option to get out early tomorrow rather than wait until late in the afternoon and then go through Atlanta," Bussman said

"It wasn't too bad"

Bonnie Natal, who flew back to Maryland from Florida, said her original flight was canceled. After finding another flight, it was overbooked, so she gave up her seat and ended up on a third flight.

"Other than my original flight being canceled, everything was fine," Natal said. "It was crazy here, especially upstairs."

Minor delays were impacted flights across the country, including in Phoenix, where Evan Simon was flying back from to Baltimore.

"It wasn't too bad. I got to the airport at like 9 a.m. [in Arizona]," Simon said. "My flight was delayed about five minutes over and over and over again, so it was delayed about little over an hour."

Other passengers say their flights are on time, but they still arrived at the airport early.

"It hasn't been delayed yet, I need to get back for work. I was looking at the weather and everything, but thankfully it was good," said Laukik Udpikar, who is flying home to Charlotte after visiting Catonsville.

Passengers say travel delays were expected so they weren't bothered by waiting a little longer. Others say they are just waiting out Mother Nature to clear before going home.  

"Fingers crossed, we should get out," Bussman said. "This storm is supposed to be over by night tonight, so we should be able to get in tomorrow."

In terms of the roads, weather Monday and Tuesday in Maryland could prove difficult on the highways.

What are the best times to travel?

As for the rest of the week, the best time to travel Monday or Tuesday is before 10 a.m. The busiest time on both days will be between noon and 8 p.m.

If you can hold off and travel New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, AAA says it expects traffic to be much lighter.