Many passengers ended up stuck on American Airlines flights due to Sunday night’s storms. News4’s Derrick Ward reports.
Air travelers say they ended up stranded at Washington Reagan National Airport overnight, some without their luggage. Severe weather in the D.C. area caused a series of delays and cancellations, leading to some big frustration for passengers.
Imagine this: You're on your plane on your way home, expecting to go to work the next day. Then you stay on your plane ... and stay on your plane. Then you get word from the airline that you are not going home today. That's the predicament some passengers at Reagan found themselves in.
One passenger who talked to NBC4 was headed south; another was headed north. Those storms that blew through here caused major disruptions, according to American Airlines.
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The crowds that were starting to appear Monday morning are the day's expected travelers, mixing with some of the passengers still stuck there from Sunday night.
"We boarded probably [at] 11:30. We were on the plane just sitting there, till about two and we got a text on the phone, said it's canceled, and unfortunately we're stuck until five tomorrow," traveler Max McCarty said.
Another passenger, Sumathi Madhure, said she had to make alternate travel plans.
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"But if it's weather related, why do I have to wait two days to get back?" Madhure asked. "I do work in a hospital. I do need to get back. I'm scheduled to work tomorrow night. So I canceled my ticket and I'm taking the train back."
Some passengers' luggage wasn't taken off of those planes. So eventually when those planes leave, the baggage will still go to their original destinations.
For Madhure, she's going to have to take the train, a bus, and then get a ride to pick up her baggage and her car.
American Airlines says this is all due to those storms that blew through the area Sunday night and caused some delays, and then there were backups from the planes that were coming in after the storm, because those gates weren't clear.
The airline says they do expect some more delays Monday, but they hope to have this all cleared up by midday.
