Houston travel: Thousands stranded at Bush Airport, 160 flights canceled on Thursday
HOUSTON - According to Flight Aware, 160 flights were canceled out of Bush Airport Thursday, leaving thousands of customers stranded in Houston right before the 4th of July holiday weekend.
Passengers reported waiting in line and on the phone for several hours trying to get their flights rebooked and locate their lost luggage.
"This is chaos. This isn’t organized chaos; this is just chaos," said Joe White, who was waiting in line to pick up his luggage.
"It’s been awful. Awful. On the phone yesterday for four hours and eight minutes. Just trying to find her bag. You’re put on hold then the phone disconnects," said Cheryl Young.
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"My mom has been here since Tuesday. Couldn’t get out so we rescheduled. Her bag has been here since Tuesday, so we can’t get her bag with all her medicines in it and get out of here. We’re not flying. We’re going to drive home," Young continued.
Justin Ray says he connected at IAH after returning from Mexico on Wednesday night.
"The flight got pushed back an hour, an hour, an hour, until 1 a.m., then they set the time for 11 a.m. this morning, then it got canceled this morning. The next available flight is on July 1 to Denver," Ray said.
"United reps told me they had a shortage of air traffic controllers and maybe pilots," Ray continued.
Melissa Guftafson told FOX 26 she'd been waiting on the phone for nearly four hours trying to get a United agent to speak with her about rebooking her flight.
"We had a connecting flight from Belize, landed in Texas, they said it was delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed. We did almost 7 hours at the airport last night before they canceled it. So after a long day of flying, we find out they don’t have hotel accommodations. No place to stay, no food vouchers even, nothing," Guftafson said.
The majority of the affected flights appeared to be with United Airlines.
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A United spokesperson said:
"Delays and cancelations at IAH are a result of the severe weather witnessed in the Northeast that’s impacted all airlines this week. We’re seeing improvement across our operation at IAH and remain all hands on deck as our pilots continue to get aircraft's moving, our contact center teams are working overtime to take care of our customers, and our airport customer service staff is working tirelessly to deliver bags and board flights.
As a reminder for customers whose travel has been disrupted, the United mobile app now automatically gives personalized re-booking options, bag tracking information and meal and hotel vouchers when eligible if your flight if delayed or canceled, making it easier and less stressful to get back on your way."
Aviation expert Janine Iannarelli said she believes the delays and cancelations were caused by a combination of airline staffing shortages and air traffic controllers.
Iannarelli suggests those planning to travel for the 4th of July weekend have an alternate travel option such as driving or taking the train as backup. Those who still intend on flying should get to the airport an hour earlier than originally planned. Experts suggest passengers worried about their luggage carry-on bag or consider putting a GPS tracker in their check-in luggage.