Severe winter weather delays flights at Tucson International Airport

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On Monday at the Tucson International Airport, a lot of travelers departed and arrived to and from Tucson. However, many of those travelers stared at the arrivals and departures board with looks of worry as they realized their flights were delayed.

“My incoming flight was delayed so ya, just kind of kept getting pushed and pushed,” Billy Manriquez said.

Manriquez lives and works in Tucson, but his flight was delayed in Colorado Springs, where he arrived from. He had to spend an extra night there, but luckily it was with family.

However, he did have to miss work on Monday.

“It’s inconvenient for sure. A couple of hours wasted hanging out at the airport but I guess it wasn’t too bad staying another day home,” he said.

Nathanael Prieve also arrived at the airport on Monday after two days of being delayed twice in Ohio and Texas. He recently lost his luggage while traveling and was worried he wouldn’t get it back.

“Luckily I split my stuff between a computer bag and my bag so all I lost was my clothing but it’s still not going to be pleasant. Means I have to replace everything to at least get by for a few days,” Prieve said.

The Tucson Airport Authority’s chief communications officer Austin Wright said they’re mostly seeing delays from arriving flights. He said it’s best to talk directly to the airline someone is flying with to get up to date information.

“The aircrafts are usually in the cities that are impacted by the weather which is what starts the trickle down effect of delays,” he said.

However, Paul Corah, who was flying to Oregon from the airport did not have a problem with delays.

“There’s no lines. It’s easy to get bags through. At least today it’s fantastic!” Corah said.

Wright said delays could last more than a day just depending on the weather but he said everything at the airport is running smoothly.

Travelers like Manriquez said it’s best to have patience during delays.

“Be flexible if you can be. Make the best of it,” Manriquez said.