Travelers in Panama City react to flight cancellations

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Travelers at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport told NewsChannel 7 that expensive airplane tickets aren’t the only things upsetting them these days.

Flight tracking site FlightAware reported that thousands of flights across the U.S. were canceled or delayed due to poor weather conditions or technical issues.

Some Southwest passengers in Panama City aren’t taking it as lightly as others.

“I did not see the email, and here I am at the airport with no way to get home,” passenger Ty Samples said. “I’m gonna hitch a ride out of Montgomery and try to hitch a ride out of there - but a total disaster.”

“I mean, we’re just trying to get home,” passenger Conner Pussman said. “We’ve got families to feed.”

Southwest Airlines said technical issues were contributing to the backlogs of many delayed and canceled flights.

We are experiencing flight disruptions across our network today due to briefly pausing our service earlier this morning as we worked to resolve an intermittent technology issue, as well as ongoing weather challenges impacting multiple areas within our system. (1/2)
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) April 2, 2022

Passengers said they wished the airline had been more transparent about flight changes.

“Southwest is usually really good,” Samples said. “I’ve had other cancellations with other airlines, but Southwest is usually on their A-game. I was a little surprised there was no text. it was just a simple, “Hey, I’m here to check in and you’re not going anywhere.”

Some passengers told NewsChannel 7 their plans remain “up in the air” with how they’ll be making it home.

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