SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The aftermath from a massive winter storm is causing nationwide chaos for travelers trying to catch a flight on the day after Christmas, especially those booked on Southwest Airlines, who accounted for a vast majority of cancelations.
Tracking site FlightAware says about 67% of Southwest’s scheduled flights for the day were canceled — far more than any other major carrier. Delta had the second-most cancelations with only about 9% of its scheduled flights for the day.
FlightAware also says about 40% of flights leaving Sacramento International Airport were canceled Monday, making it one worst airports to depart from during the chaos.
It’s even more apparent something is wrong when walking through baggage claim with thousands of bags piled up from all the canceled flights.
“My bag is gray in a sea of gray bags,” an angry traveler told ABC10.
With planes grounded because of weather conditions, airlines are doing their best to organize off-loaded luggage by putting it in labeled rows corresponding to the flights they were pulled from.
“It was much worse yesterday. There were no police around,” said Erica Schwartz.
A Good Samaritan found Schwartz’s bag on the side of the road near the airport. It was open and all her belongings were strewn all over the place. The sheriff’s office is now looking into the possible bag theft.
“All we can do now is file a report with the airline,” she said.
An SMF spokesperson told ABC10 that Southwest Airlines has more than 1,000 bags sitting in the airport’s baggage claim. The airport is now offering additional space for the luggage, and the sheriff’s office is keeping an eye on the situation.
Lines were also long at the car rental kiosks as more people tried to get a car and drive to their destination instead of waiting for another flight.
Titus Converse from Phoenix, Arizona, did exactly that. His flight from Arizona to Sacramento was delayed two days ago, so he rented a car with two other strangers.
The trio took turns driving and sleeping 12 hours straight, and when things got boring, he serenaded the group with his Vanilla Ice karaoke skills.
He made it home just in time to have breakfast at Denny’s with his grandmother, but he would prefer to fly back home.
“I just hope I get to take the plane home. I'm willing to grab onto the wings if I have to,” said Converse.
