Travelers through Tampa International Airport and other major Florida airports are still seeing delays or cancellations due to a group of strong storms near Georgia that disrupted flights Saturday.
Aviation problems continued on Sunday. An airport spokesman said that the delay and cancellation were expected due to the influx of about 10,000 passengers who were unable to fly in or out on Saturday. The airport is also seeing historically high numbers with more people traveling this spring break than last year.
Up to 100,000 people could arrive and depart for Tampa on Sunday. Due to the high volume of flights, the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to slow down some flights to reduce congestion in the skies.
Around 6pm on Saturday, almost half 650 arriving and departing flights Tampa International Airport was delayed, and 82 flights were canceled — or about 13 percent. The delays came on what an airport spokesman described as one of the busiest days for travel The beginning of the local spring holidays.
“Airlines are working hard to get people where they need to go as quickly as possible,” airport spokeswoman Emily Nibbs said. “But our most important tip to travelers is that if you are flying today, or even tomorrow, check with your airline before you come to the airport to make sure your flight is on time.”
A domino effect of delays was expected for the rest of the weekend.
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