Stuck in the Airport — and Worse

December 22, 2008 | Posted in: Airplanes, Continental, Delays, Northwest

There were more than a few horror stories from the weekend — with its terrible winter weather — most notably the saga of that Continental jet that slid off a runway in Denver. No one was killed — which one firefighter on the scene characterized as “a miracle” — but many were hospitalized. At other airports, it was a waiting game. One of my staffers was supposed to pick up her teen at LAX at 7pm Saturday — the kid was coming in from her college in the Midwest — unfortunately that Northwest arrival was delayed and delayed, until 4:30am Sunday. It could have been worse. Some passengers departing from the Seattle-Tacoma airport on Saturday were told they wouldn’t be leaving until today — or later. Part of the problem, of course, was the terrible weather — but part of it was the lack of de-icing fluid — which I blogged about earlier this month. Scary stuff.

One Response to “Stuck in the Airport — and Worse”

1. Elliot Campbell says:

   December 22, 2008 at 7:26 pm

   I think a big part of this was also the sheer amount of places affected. Yes, we have snowstorms every year. But how many hit almost the entire country at the same time. We’ve seen Chicago and New York hit at/around the same time year after year. But, how many times have we seen Seattle added at the same time. And when was the last time LAS had delays due to snow. Pile in the fact that even if you’re in Florida waiting for a flight to Charlotte, what are the chances that the plane hasn’t passed through the Northeast or Midwest at some point during the day, delaying you’re flight between two places that don’t have a problem. This can only add up to the chaos we’ve seen over the last few days.