BOSTON (WHDH) - Chaos in the skies due to inclement weather led to chaos at airports across the country, including at Boston’s Logan International Airport on Saturday.
Nearly 6,300 U.S. flights faced delays and over 600 were cancelled as of 10 p.m. on Saturday, according to flight tracker website, FlightAware. Flyers at Logan experienced at least 300 of those delays and over 40 cancellations, on top of traffic troubles right outside their terminals.
The sounds of car horns blaring and State Police commanding passengers to stay out of traffic filled the air as people not only dealt with the delays, but traffic jams surrounding the airport, exacerbated by the Sumner Tunnel closing for weekend work and other sources.
“He’s had to loop around a couple of times and they closed the way into this terminal, so we’re just being patient,” Sue DiSalvo told 7NEWS as she waited for her ride.
At one point, 7NEWS cameras spotted a few passengers who appeared to lose patience while waiting at a terminal, opting to walk towards oncoming traffic before a trooper spotted them, sending them back.
Saturday’s flight delays came a day after thunderstorms delayed another round of flights on Friday, from New York to Miami to Houston and Denver.
“We had some storms in Charleston, we had one earlier before we left,” said Brent Havens of South Carolina.
“We looked ahead to the weather, and we saw a couple stormy days coming,” Kelly Carbary told 7NEWS on her way to the Cape.
And just as the airport prepared flyers for delays in the sky, car rental companies had their own warnings for customers.
“They texted us, like, ‘prepare for extra delays,’ ‘the (Sumner) tunnel’s closed,’ it’s going to be a heck of a time getting to the Cape,” said Kacey Diehl. “So we’re ready for a few hours delay and we’re real nervous.”
The current weekend closures of the Sumner Tunnel is part of the first phase of the Sumner Tunnel Restoration Project.
The work was ordered after MassDOT inspections found chipped and crumbling concrete, rusted reinforcements, broken light fixtures and other issues needing repairs.
Plans to fully close the tunnel in 2023, from May to September, were announced earlier this year.
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