Travelers wait in line for hours due to weather delays at Atlanta airport

Travelers reported waiting in line for three hours on Saturday morning.
ATLANTA — Winter Storm Cora wreaked havoc on travel plans across the Southeast, with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport facing hundreds of flight delays and cancellations. Frustrated passengers endured hours-long waits as the airport worked to manage the disruption.
Nearly 900 flights were canceled, and over 350 were delayed on Saturday, according to the airport. Long lines in the morning stretched to the food court as weary travelers attempted to reach their destinations amid Georgia’s first significant snowfall in seven years.
“It’s been a whole, entire week. I’ve been trying to get home,” said Shynettra Foxworth, a passenger trying to get home.
Percy Walker also shared his frustration.
“About a day and a half,” he said, describing how long he had been stuck at the airport.
Stacey Honer, another traveler, expressed the financial toll of the delays.
“We spent four hours yesterday at the airport, in Destin trying to get out. The flights were delayed because of the bad weather. We’re supposed to fly to Atlanta: snowstorm. And we’re supposed to fly to LA, which just going to be more smoke and more fires.”
The storm didn’t just impact air travel. Walker, who wasn’t waiting for a flight but for a MARTA bus, said public transportation delays and rising rideshare prices added to the chaos.
“It’s like almost $70, I think from here to where I live,” he noted.
Adding to passenger concerns, Foxworth saw a viral video of a Delta flight emergency, where passengers had to evacuate on a slide after an engine failure Friday.
RELATED: 4 hurt after Delta passengers forced to evacuate on emergency slides due to engine issue
“(I’m) flying Spirit. Hopefully, I don’t become a spirit,” she joked.
She hopes to be able to leave soon.
“I’m scared of planes anyway, but we’re going to try today and hopefully, we’re good. If we’re not, then I’m stuck in Atlanta,” Foxworth said.
By the afternoon Saturday, lines began moving more smoothly, though travelers remained wary of further delays. For Honer, it’s not just about wasted time but also wasted money.
“Because we’ve got the hotel reservations…non-refundable,” Honer said.
RELATED: Flight delays and cancellations at Hartsfield-Jackson amid winter weather
For those with upcoming flights, airport officials advise arriving at least three hours early.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines said its team was working to stabilize its services following the cancellations and the delays.
“Delta’s operations in Atlanta and across the Southeast are recovering following several rounds of winter weather that impacted the world’s busiest hub throughout the day Friday. Teams across Delta worked diligently overnight to limit additional cancellations and care for our customers,” the statement said in part.
Read the full statement on the airline’s website.
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