DENVER — At a snowy Denver International Airport (DEN) Wednesday afternoon, the weather only caused a few travel headaches.
“We made it okay,” said Jennifer Holmes, who had just arrived at the airport from Keystone Ski Resort. “The roads were bad, but not too bad.”
Those flying in only reported minor delays, as well.
“It was pretty good until we landed,” said Alex Robbins, who flew in from Philadelphia. “We were stuck on the tarmac for awhile waiting for planes to get pushed off. We had 55 passengers on our flight trying to make connections. It was going to be close for some of them.”
A spokesperson for DEN said airport crews managed to keep all six runways open through the worst of the storm. Airlines canceled more than 150 flights Wednesday, but the airport said some could have be maintenance or staffing issues.
“It’s tough to pinpoint what is causing the delays and cancellations – it could be due to weather, maintenance, staffing, etc.,” said Alex Renteria, DEN spokesperson.
Danny Velazquez had no issues flying in from Ft. Lauderdale, but his friend flying in from El Paso was delayed.
“He’s now scheduled to arrive at 6:30 this evening,” Velazquez said.
Velazquez said the delays are minor compared to a shortage of 4-wheel-drive rental cars for their trip up to the high country.
“We rented an SUV, but they don’t allow you on the reservation website to select a 4x4 vehicle,” Velazquez said. “Once you get there and they show you the 2-wheel drive deal and you try to get a 4 wheel drive, suddenly it’s quadruple the price.”
As for crowds at DEN, they were fairly sparse Wednesday – typical of a non-holiday week in early February.
The Holmes family just had their first family snowboarding experience.
“We fell a few times,” said 10-year-old Jayden Holmes. “It was fun. My mom bruised her hand.”
The biggest issue for them, and others, was the movement of this massive winter storm, which is now pushing through the middle of the country and stretching from Texas to western New York.
“So far, so good,” said Jennifer Holmes, Jayden’s mom. “Fingers crossed we’ll be able to get out of here. The arctic storm is going through Houston as well, so it may be following us.”
For a complete list of tomorrow’s flight cancellations nationwide, click here.
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