Thousands of people have been left stranded in Miami after severe thunderstorms that struck Florida yesterday resulted in more than 100 flights being canceled.
Furious passengers complained of being stuck at Miami International Airport on Sunday for up to 10 hours as they desperately tried to rebook flights out of Florida.
Some say the mass cancellations means they can’t get a new flight out of Miami until at least Wednesday or Thursday.
Others who tried to find alternative transport instead say they lined up for hours to try and rent a car – only to find they had all been booked up.
American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United were among the airlines that canceled flights to and from Miami as a result of the severe thunderstorms that struck Central and South Florida.
Furious passengers complained of being stuck at Miami International Airport on Sunday for up to 10 hours as they desperately tried to rebook flights out of Florida
Some of the passengers forced to stay in the airport for hours said the mass cancellations means they can’t get a new flight out of Miami until at least Wednesday or Thursday
In total, 142 flights were canceled in Miami on Sunday and 70 were delayed.
The cancellations stretched into early Monday morning with about a dozen flights into Miami being canceled or heavily delayed.
Scheduled flights had resumed – some with delays – as of noon on Monday.
Angry fliers took to social media on Sunday to share images and footage of the hundreds of people being forced to line up for hours in a bid to rebook their canceled flights.
At one point, dozens of people could be seen lining up at a Hertz counter inside the airport as they tried to find alternative transport.
‘Stuck in the Miami Airport and all flights are canceled in the whole state. All flights, buses, rental cars, etc are booked until Wednesday to get back to Atlanta. Been waiting in the line to re-book for 3 hours in a line with 2K+ others,’ one flier tweeted.
Another tweeted: ‘@AmericanAir I’ve been at the Miami airport since 9.30am. Flight canceled. Now 8.39pm. I now have to pay to go to some hotel…
‘Now my wife and I have to take off work since we have to drive 10+ hours from Miami to North Carolina because no flights can be guaranteed until Wednesday’.
Others who tried to find alternative transport instead say they lined up for hours to try and rent a car – only to find they had all been booked up
Angry fliers took to social media on Sunday to share images and footage of the hundreds of people being forced to line up for hours in a bid to rebook their canceled flights
‘@JetBlue line of people at the vending machine at 1am. Trying to get food as JetBlue has stranded multiple flights at Miami Airport. 10+ hours of delays with no pilots or flight crews. Absolutely hopeless and most horrific airline experience ever,’ one passengers tweeted.
‘@AmericanAir calling in an SOS to help at Miami International Airport. Flights diverted and cancelled due to inclement weather. Unacceptable customer service helping people understand where their bags are. Some travelers at baggage claim for 10+ hours. No communication from AA.’
Another said: ‘Delta delayed our flight several times until they finally canceled and have no flights until Wednesday’.
The chaos at Miami airport capped a weekend of damaging weather throughout Florida.
A 17-year-old girl died on Sunday near Tampa after her car struck a downed power line during the storm.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the girl immediately got out of her car after it caught fire but she stepped on the power line and was electrocuted.
The storm brought heavy rain, strong winds, hail and lightning to wide areas of the state.
Some neighborhoods near Orlando reported golf ball-sized hail, while possible tornadoes caused damage in the Panhandle.
Severe weather warnings were still in place across Florida on Monday.
Separately, meteorologists said it was unlikely at this stage that ash from the volcanic eruption on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent would further affect flights in Florida.
Current winds are blowing east and south, which would mean it is unlikely the huge ash cloud will impact Florida.
‘At this point, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get anything from it,’ Barry Baxter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, told the Sun Sentinel.
He did say, however, that wind directions could change.
The volcano, La Soufrière, erupted on Friday and sent ash six miles into the sky.
About 16,000 people were forced to evacuate.
The chaos at Miami airport capped a weekend of damaging weather throughout Florida that saw multiple fires break out due to downed power lines
Multiple buildings and homes were damaged due to strong winds from the storms
Miami fire crews responded to repeated calls of downed power lines as the severe storm tore through
ST VINCENT VOLCANO ERUPTION MAY NOT AFFECT FLORIDA
Meteorologists have said it is unlikely at this stage that ash from the volcanic eruption on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent will further affect flights in and out of Florida.
Current winds are blowing east and south, which would mean it is unlikely the huge ash cloud will impact Florida.
‘At this point, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get anything from it,’ Barry Baxter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, told the Sun Sentinel.
He did say, however, that wind directions could change.
The volcano, La Soufrière, erupted on Friday and sent ash six miles into the sky
The volcano, La Soufrière, erupted on Friday and sent ash six miles into the sky.
About 16,000 people were forced to evacuate.
About 3,200 people took refuge at 78 government-run shelters and four empty cruise ships stood ready to take other evacuees to nearby islands with a group of more than 130 already taken to St. Lucia.
The eruption is the first large one since back in 1979.
Scientists warn that the explosions could continue for days or even weeks, and that the worst could be yet to come.
The ash has forced the cancellation of several flights, and poor visibility limited evacuations in some areas.
