Community Chat

[Goodie2shoes]

I feel so bad for all of these people getting delayed by the airline issues as they try to return home from family holiday gatherings. I see the long lines in the airports across the nation on the news, some stranded for several days.  My son and daughter-in-law went to Aruba for New Years (their first time ever out of the country) They had to take covid test and send results to the Aruba government before they could leave the US and covid test before returning to the states, thank goodness they were neg each time. They have both been vaccinated and boostered. They only had about a 2 hr delay in Miami before getting back to St. Louis so they were very lucky but tired when they got back last night so they slept in today.  I'm just so happy they had a safe trip and got back without to much of a delay

[CAcableGirl2]

@Goodie2shoes   I have personal experience from today!  9 hours driving to and from the same airport all done today. 

I left early this morning to take my son and his family to the airport about 1.5 hours away.  Dropped them off and all was well, drove back to where I live and went back to work for 2 hours, and then got the call that their first flight was delayed so they missed their connecting flight (with no more flights today), so back I go to the airport to pick them up.    

Another 3 hours on the road (to and from the same airport) for trip #2, and then back to work to finish off the work day with a few more hours of work before heading home, and now I'm here at home killing time until 8:30-9pm when we'll head back to the same airport (1.5 hours one-way) for trip #3 to have them board for their non-stop flight around midnight. 

The only good news is that there should be less traffic then the 2 earlier trips today because it's so late.

[Leggett28]

@CAcableGirl2  I feel so sorry for you, you must be exhausted. Hope you can get some rest soon 😴

[Kachina624]

I heard on the news about one poor guy whose airline flights were canceled several times so he rented a car to drive home, then got stuck in that mess on I-95 for hours.

[golding76]

The mess on VA I-95 still has me reeling -- and I wasn't even in it!  It seems that the snowstorm we had in this area contributed to "the perfect storm" for this disaster, as those in a position to assist the stranded travelers have been saying.

Most people were stuck a minimum of 24 hours in the standstill, 48-mile, bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Virginia Senator Tim Kaine was in the mess, too, and for 27 hours!  Even with his connections, there was no freeing these luckless people from this nightmare.  People had infants and young children with them in their vehicles, and they did not have food or water, in most cases.  One family was on its way to a funeral for their father.

The temperature last night was in the high teens and 20s.  With the snow and ice, those caught up in this catastrophe must have been going wild.  I know I would have been, especially if I had children with me.  One woman ran out of gas and was terrified for her children.  She spotted an ambulance and begged for help.  The ambulance driver had her children sleep in the ambulance. 

Although the latest headlines trumpeted that everyone had finally been freed from the gridlock on I-95, their travel, in many cases, ended up immediately in unmoving traffic on whichever artery they took off I-95.  Seeking gas, food and warmth, they found none of it.  Yep, the gas stations were closed because of the 14 inches of snow (or running out of fuel themselves), and the Waffle House, etc., were closed because employees were unable to get to work.  Between the jack-knifed tractor-trailers that caused the initial halt to traffic on I-95 and a multitude of other fender-benders, plus all the traffic spilling onto local roads, the entire area was shambolic.

[decaf]

I feel for everyone dealing with these delays but I wish people would stop and realize  that the entire transportation industry is affected by Covid, Omicron now.  Employees are calling out sick in droves, then they must quarantine.  Flights, unfortunately,  are either delayed or have to be cancelled.

It's not just flight crews who are getting ill, it's also all the necessary ground personnel- ticket/gate agents and baggage handlers, also air traffic controllers, aircraft cleaning and catering crews.  Making matters worse, each pilot and flight attendant is only allowed to fly a certain number of hours per calendar month, also each type of aircraft must have a minimum number of pilots and flight attendants to take off, both those mandated by the FAA.

People who want to travel these days have to accept that nothing is guaranteed now, that these delays and cancellations are out of an airlines control.  The airlines want to fly,  that's the only way they make money.  That used to mean just weather delays/cancellations, now it's all the Covid problems too.

[Carmie]

I know of no one who was crazy enough to travel for the holidays.  We are in a very active COVID crises.

Fully vaccinated means nothing.  The vaccinated and unvaccinated are getting and spreading the virus.  It is not a good or safe time to travel.

On top of that the weather has been bad.  There are people trapped on the highway and in a train in the Wash, DC area and flights are cancelled.

There are so many entitled people out there acting stupid....even some who are giving us rules to follow..  I don't  feel sorry for them. They should know better and use common sense.

If you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.

[Pook]

Anyone who was so obsessed with just having to be with family over the holidays in spite of all the warning signs and still chose to travel should have known that there have been and would be travel issues due to ongoing staffing problems because of covid outbreaks put themselves in the position they are in!  I actually know of no one who had even large family gatherings locally involving no long distance travel!

[chiclet]

Before Covid every Christmas holiday you heard the stories of people stuck in airports overnight sleeping on the floor caught in snow storms on the road and there have been many movies made about it.  Now add covid and they are still traveling knowing the situation.  I just don't understand it.  If I had family out of town I would go another month to see them unless I knew it would be their last Christmas.  We used to go on cruise or to the mountains at Christmas but that is over now.  If you choose to go anyway knowing the situation.........

[chiclet]

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@CAcableGirl2 wrote:

@Goodie2shoes   I have personal experience from today!  9 hours driving to and from the same airport all done today. 

I left early this morning to take my son and his family to the airport about 1.5 hours away.  Dropped them off and all was well, drove back to where I live and went back to work for 2 hours, and then got the call that their first flight was delayed so they missed their connecting flight (with no more flights today), so back I go to the airport to pick them up.    

Another 3 hours on the road (to and from the same airport) for trip #2, and then back to work to finish off the work day with a few more hours of work before heading home, and now I'm here at home killing time until 8:30-9pm when we'll head back to the same airport (1.5 hours one-way) for trip #3 to have them board for their non-stop flight around midnight. 

The only good news is that there should be less traffic then the 2 earlier trips today because it's so late.

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You are a good mom.  I would have done the first two trips but they would have had to find a way back the third time.  Maybe an uber or taxi.