SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With Christmas just three days away, travelers have been crowding airports to fly to their holiday destinations, but according to Flight Aware, thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled nationwide because of a winter storm.
A number of flights here at Sacramento International Airport (SMF) were also canceled or delayed Thursday. These disruptions are happening nationwide.
Some travelers were left frustrated and others were in good spirits, but the flight disruptions are certainly throwing a wrench into their plans and creating plenty of headaches.
According to AAA, there's a 14% increase in air travel this year with more than 7 million Americans expected to fly to their holiday destinations.
Sean Coloopy is among that crowd, heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico to spend time with family.
"We're gonna cook, watch some Christmas movies and just hang out and relax," said Coloopy.
Although Coloopy's flight arrived on time, thousands of flights nationwide have been either canceled or delayed for several hours. Niki Kalami said her flight to Las Vegas was delayed for about five hours.
"Just wanted to go somewhere close and not that long of a travel flight, especially since the east coast is snowing a lot," said Kalami.
Parking spots at SMF have also been hard to come by this week.
"It was pretty full. We had to park pretty far," said Kalami.
Noah Ampafo has been driving for Uber for the past seven years and says he's noticed more travelers opting to use rideshare services to get to the airport.
"It works out pretty good for people in Uber and Lyft. They come in handy when you need them," said Ampafo.
The delays and cancelations can cause a lot of anxiety among travelers, so SMF is trying something new this year, offering live music to ease the holiday stress.
"We have people from all over the world coming through these escalators, so I'm trying to play things from Shania Twain to Frank Sinatra to Green Day," said Xochitl Hermosillo, a musician.
Kalami is offering this advice to people planning to head to the airport this week.
"I would say get here early just in case the lines pick up, and if you're flying to the east coast, have a backup plan," said Kalami.
Airport officials are also advising people to arrive to the airport early and give themselves extra time. They recommend arriving two hours early if you're flying domestically.
If anyone plans on driving and parking their car at the airport, it's going to be hard to find a spot, so it might be easier to hail an Uber or Lyft. SMF's website has a live map of available parking spots and travelers can also check to see if they're flight was canceled or delayed.
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