NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The winter weather has caused trouble at airports across the country, including Nashville.
Many travelers at Nashville International Airport (BNA) on Tuesday were hit with delays and cancelations.
News 2 spoke to many people who expected to take to the skies, but instead, they had multiple flights canceled and rebooked through mostly Southwest and American Airlines.
Almost all of them were trying to get to Texas, mainly Dallas, where most of the delays are happening, but one woman has been trying to get back to Myrtle Beach all day.
“I was coming home from Denver to Myrtle Beach, and I got two text messages yesterday just randomly when I was out to eat. I look at my phone and it was like your flights canceled, you’ve been rebooked, your flights canceled, you’ve been rebooked,” traveler Hayley Hughes said.
More than 1,000 flights have been canceled nationwide from the impact of the winter weather, and Hughes is one of many dealing with a nightmare of a day.
Hughes’ flight was delayed four times; she’s been stuck in multiple airports since early Tuesday morning, and hopes she’ll finally be able to go back home after waiting for more than 12 hours.
“They originally sent me to Chicago and then they canceled it because I was originally coming here for my layover, but then they sent me to Chicago for my layover, and then they sent me back down to Nashville for my layover,” Hughes said.
This morning into the afternoon, the big board included delays and cancelations to cities like Atlanta, Boston, New York, and St. Louis, and many in Texas, including Houston, Dallas, and Austin.
“I was looking on the radar and there’s like a huge patch going from like Texas all the way up to over Tennessee, so I guess it’s kind of hard to get around, but it sucks,” Hughes said.
Hughes said her flight keeps getting pushed back and is worried she won’t make it back to Myrtle Beach in time for work at 4 a.m. Wednesday.
“I’m the opening shift manager, so if I don’t get there then it’s going to be an issue. It could be a big issue,” Hughes said.
BNA officials said they’ve been prepping every area from airfields to passenger walkways to make sure travelers and planes can leave Nashville safely.
“What we started doing as soon as we see any inclement weather warnings, we start to treat our airways and our taxiways, but we also treat the areas that people walk through, our parking lots, our premises around the entire airport, to make sure it’s safe when people arrive here. If it’s bad, they’re not going to let you get in the skies, but if flights can leave out, we’re going to make sure we have the best facility in place to ensure safety for all as they leave here,” said Stacey Nickens, assistant vice president of corporate communication at Nashville International Airport.
BNA also said to remember to check in with your airline if you have a flight scheduled in the next few days.
“We encourage all travelers to be sure to check the website or just call their airlines before coming here to the airport because it saves a lot of time and a lot of frustration just knowing in advance,” Nickens said.
At the time this article was published, more than 100 flights both arriving and departing were canceled Tuesday at BNA, according to FlightAware.