Cincinnati Airport Expects No Logjam
When the airline passengers stranded in Denver by a two-day blizzard do begin to fly out, it could have an impact on busy airports around the nation this holiday weekend but little impact is expected at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
“We don’t have that many flights going into Denver,” airport spokesman Ted Bushelman said Friday. “That’s basically a big United market and Frontier market.”
United Airlines, which has a hub operation in Denver, operates flights from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, including service to Denver. Frontier Airlines does not serve the airport here.
Delta Air Lines and its subsidiary Comair provide about 80 percent of the flights at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky.
More than 2,000 flights were canceled Wednesday through Friday morning at Denver International Airport, the nation’s fifth- busiest, due to a snowstorm. Airport crews were working to reopen runways today so flights can resume and the thousands of travelers stuck there could begin to get out.
The jam in Denver backed up flights around the country heading into the one of the busiest travel times of the year, with 9 million Americans planning to take to the skies during the nine-day Christmas-to-New Year’s period.
At O’Hare Airport in Chicago, more than 100 flights were canceled Friday, and delays averaged more than an hour.
Army Spc. Nicholas Silva curled up on a bench Friday, put his head on his arm and hunkered down Friday for a third night inside O’Hare. The 20-year-old based at Fort Drum, N.Y., said he hoped to board a plane home to Aurora, Colo., on Saturday evening.
“I’ve slept in worse areas, so this doesn’t bug me all that much,” said Silva, who spent last Christmas stationed in Iraq and is traveling home for the first time in two years. “I’ll be home for Christmas. I can see my family. Does it really matter after that?”
In addition to the ripple effect of Denver’s closure throughout the nation, Bushelman said further complicating matter are delays in Chicago, another United hub, which are blamed on rainy weather and a low ceiling.
“They’ve got problems in Chicago. They’ve been running three hours late. Fort Myers, Fla., has been running an hour or so late. There are little pockets,” Bushelman said.
Bushelman said thus far operations are smooth at Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky. “It isn’t that bad but there could be a possibility that your particular flight might have a problem,” he said. “I would ask travelers to check with their airline or travel agent anytime they fly but particularly around the holidays and when there are weather concerns.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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