ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – U.S. flight cancellations continued into New Year’s weekend. Northeast Wisconsin flights were among the thousands scrapped.
Anton Chilinski is finally leaving Green Bay’s Austin Straubel Airport, but two whole days after he was scheduled to take off to Salt Lake City.
Tuesday’s travel is a breeze compared to his trip to Green Bay on Dec. 15.
“I had flight cancellations getting here from Salt Lake City,” said Chilinski,”They canceled multiple flights for me in Minneapolis, and as a result, I had to stay overnight in the airport for a total of 40 hours. That was horrible.”
Half of the Austin Straubel arriving and departing flights were canceled on New Years Day.
On Tuesday travel is running much more smoothly.
Appleton International Airport Director Abe Weber tells FOX 11 ATW saw a small number of cancellations.
“Probably a half dozen to 10 flights that we’ve seen canceled out of our airport, so that is good news for our local travelers.”
Both airports say the majority of local flight cancellations on New Year’s weekend were to and from Chicago.
Not only did O’Hare have bad weather, but also faced staffing issues brought on by the omicron variant.
“It’s atypical to see the amount of cancellations based upon the illness,” said Weber.
Austin Straubel Airport Director Marty Piette tells FOX 11 travelers need to stay informed.
“Paying attention to your connecting flights as well because you tend to run into bigger problems at larger airports.”
Both Weber and Piette say if your flight is canceled, be patient and contact the airlines.
For Chilinski, he’s hopeful his trip back to Utah will be smooth. But his mother says there was a bright side to leaving Green Bay late.
“He got to go to a Packer game though on Sunday night because he was here when he wasn’t supposed to be.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation says you could get a refund for canceled flights.
