Lingering weather delays causing delays/cancellations at PHX Sky Harbor

PHOENIX — Winter storms hitting much of the country are impacting holiday travel to and from Sky Harbor.

At about 5 p.m. Sunday, Sky Harbor reported 95 delayed flights and 77 canceled flights but by 11 p.m. canceled flights were down 24 and less than 10 delays.

A large number of issues were from Southwest Airlines. In response, Southwest released the following statement:

We continue to proactively manage and update our operational plan and flight schedules in response to Winter Storm Elliott, and we are grateful for the support of our Employees as we work to stabilize our network. With more than half of the airports where we operate in the continental U.S. under duress from the storm, Southwest is uniquely affected given our size and structure.

As it remains a very dynamic situation, we don't have specific numbers to share on flight disruptions, but the storms have forced thousands of cancellations throughout our network. We appreciate our Customers' patience and apologize for inconveniences as we work to get them to their destinations as quickly and safely as possible this holiday. Customers are encouraged to confirm their flight status at Southwest.com or on the Southwest app.

Travelers’ weather woes are likely to continue, with hundreds of flight cancellations already and more expected after a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow. Some 1,707 domestic and international flights were canceled on Sunday as of about 2 p.m. EDT, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

The storm unleashed its full fury on Buffalo, with hurricane-force winds and snow causing whiteout conditions, paralyzing emergency response efforts. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said almost every fire truck in the city was stranded Saturday and implored people Sunday to respect an ongoing driving ban in the region. Officials said the airport would be shut through Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service said the snow total at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport stood at 43 inches (109 centimeters) at 7 a.m. Sunday.

Daylight revealed cars nearly covered by 6-foot snowdrifts and thousands of houses, some adorned in unlit holiday displays, dark from a lack of power. With snow swirling down untouched and impassable streets, forecasters warned that an additional 1 to 2 feet of snow was possible in some areas through early Monday morning amid wind gusts of 40 mph. Police said Sunday evening that there were two “isolated” instances of looting during the storm.

To check the latest cancellations and delays at Sky Harbor, or Mesa Gateway, click here.

The best advice Rya Smith with Mesa Gateway has if you are flying is to arrive early. “Take your time, get to the airport early. Luckily all of the concessions for most airports are open. Sit down, have a drink, plan your lunch there, do some shopping. Save yourself the stress and get to the airport as early as possible."

It’s not just the weather, pilot shortages are also impacting delays and cancelations.

“One of the difficult things that the airline industry is facing right now with the pilot shortage is that planes now are flying fuller than they ever have before,” Smith said. “Because you’re having to fly less flights, put more people on every plane, when a flight gets canceled, sometimes there are not a lot of options.”

While at the airport Wednesday afternoon, we noticed while some people were hurrying to their terminal, others like Joshua Pankewich were stuck in ticketing, just trying to figure out how to get home.

“I was going to Sydney, to LA, and LA got sidetracked, so I came here…” Pankewich told ABC15.

He says, after 17 hours of traveling, he found out his flight home to Edmonton, Canada, was canceled. Meaning, his plans to see his family and friends could be canceled too.

“It’s pretty frustrating, but what can you do?” he added.

Though Pankewich isn’t the only one who’s frustrated.

Beverly Morales almost missed her flight from California here.

“When I was in the Long Beach airport, this was on the board. Delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed,” Morales told ABC15.

“You were afraid that might be you,” said ABC15’s Luzdelia Caballero.

“Mhm,” she responded.

Now Moreles is afraid another delay may leave her grounded in the valley.

“Eventually someone’s going to get stuck in the airport,” she added.

Carla DaLee, who is flying to Hawaii, is among the lucky ones. At least, so far…

“No delays, no cancellations,” said DaLee.

Though it’s not lost on DaLee how many people she’s heard getting stuck at the airport, or somewhere away from home.

“I know going to Minneapolis, and some of those other places, back in (the) Midwest, I feel bad for ‘em because there aren’t a lot of options before the holidays, so I hope they have safe flights and finally get to their destinations and have a great holiday,” DaLee told ABC15.

Pankewich tells us, that is his hope, too.

“Definitely hoping for a Christmas miracle at this point. I’ll go wherever now, as long as I get home,” said Pankewich.