By midday Sunday, more than 2500 flights into or out of U.S. airports were delayed. Video aired on NBC Washington on Nov. 28, 2022
Thousands of flight delays caused a mess during the post-Thanksgiving travel rush, and airports in the D.C. area didn't escape unscathed.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware.com, 6,957 flights within, into and out of the U.S. were delayed on Sunday, Nov. 27. A total 179 flights into, out of and within the U.S. were canceled that same day.
Ronald Reagan National Airport was no exception to the travel headaches -- 65 of those cancelled flights, and 426 of the flight delays, took place at DCA.
A mass of cars could still be seen outside the National Airport early Monday morning, with a series of headlights shining bright in the 6 a.m. darkness.
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Washington Dulles International Airport also saw delays, though it fared better than DCA did, with 160 delays and just one cancellation.
Worldwide, according to Flight Aware, a whopping 16,951 flights were delayed on Sunday, and 2,270 flights were canceled.
Many of the delays were caused by weather, including strong winds and rain on the East Coast. Some people who were not able to rebook hit the skies on Monday.
DCA saw a much smaller number of flight issues on Monday, with 111 flight delays and three cancellations. IAD saw just 41 delays Monday and one cancellation.
AAA had predicted nearly 55 million people would travel 50 miles or more over the Thanksgiving weekend.
