Flying home from Jacksonville International Airport hasn’t been an easy feat for many this New Year’s Day.
According to Flight Aware, a website that tracks real-time worldwide flight traffic, 19 flights have been canceled so far at Jacksonville International Airport as of Saturday night, and 22 have been delayed -- all as people are trying to make it home after the holidays.
News4Jax learned that 11 flights have already been canceled at Jacksonville International Airport for Sunday, as well. That number is expected to go up.
Staffing shortages because of COVID-19 have plagued airlines, but Saturdays’ disruptions weren’t just due to the virus.
According to a Southwest Airlines spokesperson, wintry weather in Chicago caused the airlines to suspend operations at both Chicago airports.
John Detoni was supposed to fly into Chicago on his way home to San Francisco, but his Southwest flight was canceled.
“It was going to go from here to Chicago to San Francisco,” Detoni said.
He never received an email or text. Instead, he found out at the counter, after he’d arrived. He said he had travel issues flying from San Francisco to Jacksonville, as well.
“We got delayed in Boston for 10 hours,” he said.
The Widger family’s flight was also delayed for hours as they were attempting to fly into Jacksonville from Los Angeles.
“We were supposed to leave around 11:30, but 11:30 turned to 12:30 to 1:30 ...” Tony Widger said, adding that he is now stuck in Jacksonville until Sunday morning.
Southwest canceled more than 450 flights nationwide.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines canceled more than 200 flights each, and United Airlines canceled more than 150.
SkyWest, a regional carrier that operates flights under the names American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, grounded 480 flights.
According to Flight Aware, there were more than 2,600 total cancellations nationwide.