It’s a double whammy of sorts as Fourth of July travelers return home and Hurricane Beryl moves into Texas. NBC 5’s Alanna Quillen reports hundreds of flights are canceled in and out of Houston and South Texas because of the category 1 hurricane.
Hurricane Beryl is wreaking havoc on travel plans across the state, just as many are wrapping up their July Fourth holiday weekend.
Hundreds of flights have been canceled into and out of Houston and the Texas coast.
As Beryl moves north through East Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, airports along the path are bracing for more delays and cancellations.
TEXAS AIRPORTS FEEL THE EFFECTS OF HOLIDAY TRAVEL AND BERYL
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Impacts from the storm and holiday are already being felt in North Texas, with travelers returning to Houston now stranded at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field.
"I was at a wedding party and everyone's either stuck in Colorado or driving back because our flights were canceled, changed, or were delayed,” said Monica Valdez, a Houston resident stuck in DFW. "I'm just trying to get back to Houston, but I'm happy to be back in Texas. So I've made it this far."
According to aviation tracking site FlightAware, Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport is leading the nation in canceled flights, with more than 2,300 total flights canceled into and out of the airport as of 10 p.m. Monday. At Hobby Airport, there were more than 300 cancellations by noon.
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By Tuesday morning, nearly 300 flights were canceled into and out of Bush Intercontinental Airport. In Dallas, DFW International Airport saw 29 canceled flights on Tuesday morning.
United led the nation in cancellations, with over 500 flights canceled on Monday. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines was a close second, with about 360 canceled flights.
Mia Aquirre was trying to return to Corpus Christi to resume summer school classes at Texas A&M Corpus Christi but got stuck at DFW Airport.
"Thank God that I have family here. Imagine paying out of pocket being a college student. It's just inconvenient for everyone, but we just want to make sure everyone's safe at the end of the day,” she said. "I'm trying to get back home to my university but my flight got delayed and we're supposed to have classes on Tuesday – but because of the hurricane and stuff, I'm just kind of worried about that. We're just kind of going with the flow and praying and hoping for the best."
Through 10 p.m. Monday, DFW Airport experienced some sizable impacts — with nearly 1,000 delays and over 100 cancellations. Dallas Love Field had over 100 delays and more than 30 cancellations as of 10 p.m.
AIRLINES WAIVE CHANGE FEES FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY BERYL
Multiple airlines have issued travel alerts due to Beryl and have waived change fees for those flying to and from affected areas.
Click the links below for details from each airline:
- Delta Airlines
- American Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- United Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- JetBlue Airlines
- Frontier Airlines
TSA REPORTS RECORD-BREAKING TRAVEL
This comes as the Transportation Security Administration moves through a record-breaking travel season this summer.
The TSA reported in late June that it screened a record 2.99 million passengers on Sunday, June 23. That record was quickly broken after the Fourth of July holiday rush.
Preliminary passenger volume reports from most airports reveal that TSA officers screened over three million passengers on Sunday, July 7.
“We expect this summer to be our busiest ever and summer travel usually peaks over the Independence Day holiday,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement in June. “The traveling public is on the move, which is a sign of a healthy economy. We are ready, along with our airline and airport partners, to handle this boost in passenger volumes.”
Eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA history have already happened this year.
