JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of Southwest flights were canceled at the Jacksonville International Airport, leaving some passengers waiting in line for hours to reschedule. Those left stranded found hotels quickly filling up.
Carrie Oakley came to Jacksonville to see family for Christmas. She was supposed to leave on Monday for a flight back to Missouri, and be at work on Tuesday.
“We were told it was delayed, we did not know that it was canceled until we got here," Carrie Oakley said.
Oakley had to call off work and re-booked for the 29th, but then her flight was cancelled again.
“We’ve been trying to get somebody on the phone since 8am this morning and have not been able to get in…and so we decided to come here to see what’s going on so we can get home," Oakley said.
Oakley and her husband are now stuck in a hotel, using their emergency money to get by and with only enough clothes for what was supposed to be a weekend trip.
“We did plan for contingencies, but the clean clothes are a little bit of an issue," Oakley said.
Oakley says they did get hotel vouchers from Southwest airlines. Looking at hotels around the airport rooms are filling up, one hotel by the airport had 89% of rooms booked.
Another issue passenger are dealing with, baggage, at the southwest baggage claim, dozens of piece of luggage sat waiting for someone to pick them up.
Brent Grissom whose flight home to Philadelphia was canceled hours before takeoff was shocked at the sea of luggage.
“I was wondering what was going on I always fly southwest and to come in and see nothing but bags that’s crazy," Brent Grissom, Flight was canceled, said.