Lost bags, missed flights and cancellations plague Atlanta airport

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - While the weather is starting to clear up, the mess at airports across the country is not.

Lost bags, delayed flights and missed Christmases are just some of the woes at Atlanta’s airport as thousands of flights get canceled due to a freeze seen across the country.

“The wait is a good hour at least,” said Jonathan Stephens, who is trying to fly to Seattle.

Here’s what you need to know about dealing with very cold weather

Over the past day, Flight Aware reported an estimated 245 flight cancellations and over 50 delays at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The airport saw lines wrapped around baggage claim and airline desks for engers trying to check bags and re-book flights.

“More time between now and our flight, I do not know,” said Jason Trout, who was trying to fly to Hartford, Connecticut.

One mother-daughter duo waited 50 minutes to check a bag with Southwest.

A couple flying Frontier Airlines was in line for an hour and a half and missed their connection to Las Vegas. The next available flight? Three days away.

“Frontier will have to get us there. We’re here and we’re on time,” said Trout.

And then there’s the sea of luggage taking up baggage claim. Hundreds of bags made their way to Atlanta while their owners did not.

“We don’t have our luggage, our clothes, our medicines, everything,” said Starlette Talley, who was connecting through Atlanta on her way home to Indianapolis

“They delayed our flight for six hours, then they canceled. They canceled until the 29th. Then this morning at 4 a.m., they sent us a text: ‘we can’t get a flight out til who knows when,’” said Talley.

Talley adds that she and her eight family have no idea where their bags are.

“We have a child with us. He’s five years old. He’s ready to go home. He has Christmas toys he wants to get to,” said Talley.

Instead, the Talleys are stranded.

“They gave us a room for one night and we have a five-day delay,” said Talley.

Several major airlines have issued travel advisories.

Delta is rebooking canceled flights. American Airlines, Southwest and Spirit are letting customers re-book without change fees. All airlines are encouraging customers to use their apps to try to self-rebook since customer service is seeing super high call volumes.

A man flying to Seattle was smiling despite the stress.

“You have a choice. Be negative or be positive. So positive it is,” said Stephens.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport says it has extended concession hours and added more staff to help travelers make it to their destination.

Don’t forget to our First Alert Weather app for the most up-to-date information.

Click here for the latest forecast.

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