ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Hundreds of families packed the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) on Thursday afternoon ahead of the holiday weekend.
While several families planned to head to warmer destinations, an impending winter storm back home is threatening the chances they'll make it on time.
"I’m working in Detroit, but I’m heading home to Florida, so can’t wait to get there," said Paul Wieczorek as he stood in line Thursday afternoon. "I’m hoping my timing is just right. We'll see."
AAA estimates more than 7 million Americans will fly to their holiday destinations this year. Kelly Schorth says she and her family have been going to Florida for the holiday for the last few years.
"We are actually heading to Florida to go see my parents. They’re down there for the winter, so we’re going to go spend Christmas with them," said Schorth.
Schorth says she was concerned about the storm but is relieved they're set to their destination before the winter weather hits.
"We actually looked to see if we could get on earlier, but I think we’re good because it’s not until later," she added.
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 60 flights were delayed or canceled at DTW. The flights were heading to several destinations including Grand Rapids, Chicago, and Phoenix, Arizona.
"We’re going to travel to Phoenix, Arizona to go visit our grandpa and family," said Riah Short as she stood in the ticket line. "Our parents were actually supposed to fly out tomorrow to meet us there, but they actually canceled their flight because they knew they weren’t going to be able to make it just with the drive and the weather and everything."
Short was not alone. Several other families say they also began changing around their plans to accommodate rough weather.
"We were supposed to fly out tomorrow afternoon but given the impending blizzard we called Delta and changed our flights and now we’re flying out today," said Jess Anspach as she stood next to her husband and kids.
Meantime, the airport says they'll be doing all they can to keep runways and taxiways clear and the passengers' experiences smooth. They're telling passengers to check directly with their airline to stay up to date on flight delays, cancellations and refunds if necessary.
The latest flight delay information can be found on their website as well.
