Southern Winter Storm Pummeling Travelers
ATLANTA (CBSMiami) – Stranded passengers at Miami International were settling in to spend the night in the concourse after cancelled flights changed their travel plans Wednesday.
"It's an inconvenience," Marvin Baker said.
Baker was heading to Memphis via Atlanta, but his flight was cancelled because of the ice storm blanketing parts of the southeast.
"I think I'll probably wind up spending the night here at the airport," Baker told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Delta has cancelled more than 1,700 flights, many to and from it's hub in Atlanta.
U.S. Airways has scrubbed a few flights departing from Miami. It's home base in Charlotte is being impacted by the storm, too.
Erica Chiriboga was on her way to Charlotte from Ecuador when her layover at MIA was extended.
"We're contacting family to see if they have friends, because we don't have anyone here that we know, so we're stuck here for now. This is our hotel," Chiriboga said.
At Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airports, the delays and cancellations started piling up Tuesday night.
Jim Gontarz said his son's flight was cancelled, and he starts medical school Monday
"He just called us in a panic saying his flight was cancelled through Atlanta. We went online and there were no available flights on any airlines that we could find," Gontarz said. "We came down here and they were wonderful.
Bayyina Clinton and her family were Barbados bound, eager to leave behind the winter weather back home in Georgia.
They drove from Atlanta to Miami Tuesday night to beat the storm.
"The whole city is shut down. Cars can't go anywhere," Clinton said. "A lot of people are frustrated, but there's nothing you can do. You can't control the weather."
By 4 p.m. Wednesday, 63 flights had be cancelled in and out of MIA, including 25 arrivals and 38 departures.
Passengers are urged to call their airlines ahead of time before showing up to the airport.
Check your local flights here:
Click Here For Flight cancellations At Miami International
Click Here For Flight cancellations At Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International
