TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The weather is causing problems for travelers at Tampa International Airport before Independence Day.
More than 200 flights delayed on Wednesday, and the number of delays steadily increased on Thursday.
TPA is no exception for airports across the country ahead of what is expected to be a record-breaking travel holiday on July 4th.
“Me and my family will be on a trip to Japan,” said traveler Lina Abuokabu.
“I’m with my lovely wife Indra. I’m going to Seattle, Washington,” said another traveler Stephen Lang.
The delay was communicated on Thursday as more people are affected.
“Oh, that was awful, I actually stayed here for the night,” the traveler said.
“We were constantly checking, we were the type of people who check that type of thing, so we were expecting and crossing fingers that wouldn’t happen to us,” Abuokabu said.
The TPA said it expects more than 360,000 travelers to pass through the airport over this holiday weekend. Sunday will be the most predictable travel day with around 80,000 passengers.
Travelers are noticing the massive amount of people coming through the airport.
“It’s stuffed here. I’ve seen people come and go. People are spending the night. It was resistance, I’ll tell you. It was a bad experience, but I’m trying to make the most of it.
“Yeah, so far, there have been a lot of people just walking around the airport. It’s pretty early, so that’s something you should be particularly aware,” Abuokabu said.
Everyone wants to get to a place where they go without delay, but travelers sometimes said, you just have to roll with it.
“In the end it’s fine. If it’s late, there’s another flight and it always works,” Abuokabu said.
Nationwide, TSA expects more than 18.5 million people to fly from July 1st to July 7th.
The TPA encourages passengers to check with the airline regarding delays or cancellations.
