HEBRON, Kentucky — Flying has been a nightmare for travelers during the government shutdown, with flight delays to cancellations, and airports facing staffing shortages.
After three days of traveling for what was supposed to be a one-day trip, Stephyn Ward is happy to be home, according to our news partner, WCPO.
On Friday, Ward flew out of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) to Dallas. The plan was for him to fly back to Cincinnati that night.
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“By the time I got to Dallas, they canceled my Friday night flight and rescheduled me for the next morning on Frontier,” Ward said.
When he showed up for his Saturday morning flight the next day, he saw that his flight had been canceled as well.
After a three-hour wait, Ward said he was able to rearrange another flight, but it was in a different terminal, across the airport.
“From that terminal, they delayed that flight, and I waited another three hours, and then at the end of that three hours, they canceled that flight,” said Ward.
Ward retrieved his luggage and found another hotel to spend the night. He said he returned on Sunday to then be rebooked for a flight on Monday morning.
Once he returned to CVG, the headache was not over. His suitcase he had had for two months, was returned to him busted open.
“You put so much money into stuff like this, and then just having these guys just toss it around like it’s garbage. It’s just not right,” said Ward.
Chrissy Collet of Cincinnati said she had a similar experience when she flew with her family from Orlando.
“Supposed to leave at 3:25 p.m. yesterday, and on the way to the airport, you know, get there early, they said there’s a delay, okay, but no big deal. Just a couple hours,” Collet said.
Once she got to the airport, she said the flight was constantly delayed until 2 am.
Collet said she saw widespread frustration from other stranded travelers as she waited.
“There’s just people everywhere, just sleeping, huge lines to get food, and cranky people. I just could overhear conversations. Just, yeah, they were not, not happy,” Collet said.
As she was desperate to return home, she looked around for different flights.
As Collet looked at different flights, a lot of them were booked, or not near her house.
“And then finally, Indianapolis was leaving. When I talked to the ticket agent, she was like, ‘They’re boarding now.’ It was like six something. Yeah, they got us on,” said Collet.
The nightmare continued because Collet and her family had to leave their luggage at the airport.
Once they hit Indianapolis, Collet said she faced steep charges when renting a car to Cincinnati.
“My husband and I are like, ‘Should we drive to Indianapolis and take the car back? And we’re just like, ‘I can’t do it. I can’t do it.’ So, we’re gonna have to pay the $650 to leave it here,” said Collet.
The disruptions travelers are facing are part of a nationwide crisis. On Tuesday, more than 1,200 flights were canceled as the Federal Aviation Administration limited the capacity at 40 major U.S airports.
CVG saw 19 delays on Tuesday by 5 pm, and another 20 flights had been canceled.
In the event of the government opening up this week, travelers will still be seeing the impact for weeks to come.
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