HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — As the holiday travel rush gets underway, a cross-country storm is canceling flights across the U.S., but that is not stopping people from hitting the airports.
At Tampa International Airport, 75,000 to 80,000 travelers are expected to come through.
Thursday is the busiest travel day before Christmas at TPA and one after another, families are reuniting with loved ones. After not seeing each other for ten months, Scott Clendening made sure his daughter saw a familiar face when she touched down.
“I’m very surprised; now I feel like I’m turning red,” said Kate Clendening. “She’s such a huge part of our family; this makes our Christmas,” added Scott Clendening.
Winter storms are creating massive delays and cancellations across the country, so Kevin Whalen wanted to spread some Christmas cheer on his flight from Virginia. He was decked out in a red Christmas suit, with lights and all.
“Make people happy, make people smile. I love this holiday season. I always love Christmas,” Kevin Whalen said.
TPA said there have been only a handful of canceled flights. They advise checking with your airline ahead of time.
“Hopefully, ours won't get canceled and we have a nonstop flight,” Nicolle Shalley said.
Many airlines are waiving change fees and offering travelers the option of choosing new flights to avoid bad weather.
“It was just a minor delay, fortunately, this time because the weather. Only about an hour and a half flight which is good, but overall holiday travel went better than I expected,” said Kate.
While Santa’s Sisters serenade travelers at TPA, the urge to be home for Christmas appears to outweigh cancelation concerns.
“Family is everything for the holidays. So, this is where I would always want to spend it,” Kate said.
