CLEVELAND (WJW) – There’s long lines at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on the eve of summer’s busiest travel weekend.
“I was looking at the departure board and five of them were delayed or canceled,” said traveler Greg Brand.
Airport officials said 1,600 people are scheduled to fly out Friday morning starting at 5 a.m.
Greg and his wife Pat flew in from Texas to see family in Akron.
“We planned a day extra on the front and the back so we missed the peak,” said Brand.
Wednesday and Thursday saw thousands of flight cancellations across the US. Planes are completely booked with no empty seats on later flights to accommodate stranded travelers.
Tamara Parker-Davis of Cleveland was in Toronto when her flight was canceled.
“We found out it was rescheduled for Thursday and there were no hotels and I couldn’t get to my luggage,” said Parker-Davis.
Hopkins reports air travel is almost back to pre-pandemic levels — little rest for airlines still recovering from the chaos of the last two holidays.