RIC travelers face delays and cancellations after winter storm
VENN
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Some travelers at Richmond International Airport were forced to change plans Monday after a winter storm moved along the East Coast.
Much of the Central Virginia area is trying to clean up after this weekend's winter storm, which includes Richmond International Airport.
Last week, airport officials, including Perry J. Miller, said the airport would be preparing for winter weather and encouraged travelers to continue to check on their flight status before coming to the airport.
The winter storm prompted several cancellations across much of the East Coast, including RIC. On Sunday, airport leaders said 140 flights were cancelled. Although flights weren't coming in and out, crews were hard at work deicing planes and clearing the runway for operations to resume.
Monday morning, the number of cancellations decreased signifcantly but 50 flights were still canceled and others experienced delays. 8News spoke with travelers about how they had to change their travel plans.
Some people like Raymond Gold are now stuck in Richmond. Gold was in town for a birthday party but wasn't able to head back home to Florida on Sunday because of the storm.
“I was supposed to go home yesterday, then they canceled it. And then this morning, when we got here, right before the plane was going to take off, they canceled it,” Gold said.
Others like Chris McMillan, aren't too far from home, but instead of going to Dallas, he is waiting in a hotel and will try to make it on the next plane Tuesday morning.
“I was actually supposed to go yesterday. And so that flight was canceled. And I've been checking FlightAware, like, obsessively over the past 24 hours," McMillan said. "We were checking our bags, actually, and get a text that the flights have been canceled.”
If you have travel plans, you are encouraged to check with your airline or the airport's website to view cancellations and delays. Airport officials said during inclement weather, airlines will likely waive fees.
