ATLANTA — After hail storms and an hours-long ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, thousands of people are stranded on Saturday morning.
According to flight tracker Flight Aware, 479 flights have been canceled so far on Saturday, and another 371 have been delayed.
Channel 2’s Bryan Mims has been at the airport talking to passengers during Channel 2 Action News Saturday AM and Channel 2 Action News at Noon.
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Carol Nevin flew in from Chicago, but her flight was delayed because of and she missed her plane to Johannesburg. She took a shuttle to find a hotel room, but nothing was available.
“Then we came back and went upstairs and put our stuff down and slept,” she said.
She was surrounded by other sleep-deprived travelers. “Hundreds of them. I’ve never seen so many people laying on the floor.”
Daren Ratajczak is trying to get home to Wisconsin from Fort Lauderdale. His plane was diverted to Birmingham during the storms, and by the time he reached Atlanta in the wee hours of Saturday, he missed his flight.
“All the flights are cancelled,” he said. “We can’t get back to Appleton until Sunday or Monday.”
“Until then?” Mims asked.
“I don’t know – live in the airport like all these other folks," he replied.
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Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines confirmed that more than 90 flights were diverted or delayed because of intense thunderstorms, winds and hail on Friday night.
They also said that technicians worked throughout the night to complete hail inspections on about 100 aircraft. Nearly all of those will be returning to service on Saturday.
Lillian Ransijn told Mims that she was delayed getting in from Chicago because of hail and strong wind in Atlanta, then she spent four hours on the tarmac. She said patience and a good attitude are essential for dealing with the travel woes.
“It’s needing to manage oneself and also everyone else around you, trying to get some sleep,” she said.
The FAA confirmed that the air traffic control tower at the airport had to be evacuated Friday night due to strong winds. Some controllers stayed in the tower to continue operations.
This all comes over the busy Fourth of July travel period when airport officials estimate over 4 million people will pass through Hartsfield-Jackson.
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