Post Thanksgiving Travel Impact

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Long lines of luggage and passengers crowded Terminal D at the Philadelphia International Airport Saturday evening.

“I just looked at all the baggage coming in here. I said I’m not checking my bag today,” said Jerry Lubinsky from Douglassville, Pennsylvania.

The captivating congestion, extended wait times and disrupted operations were caused by a power outage during one of the busiest Thanksgiving travel days at the airport. More than 95,000 passengers were expected to pass through the terminals.

“I travel a lot and I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m not excited about it,” said Kelly Petrillo who was traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Airport Spokesperson Heather Redfern said the outage began around 9 p.m. on Friday and was restored by 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The reason remains under investigation.

Redfern said it only impacted Terminal D and left more than 40 flights delayed on Saturday for Delta, United, Air Canada and Alaska Airlines. There were no cancellations.

“We showed up at 12:30 to chaos of very very nice people and have been here ever since,” said Eleanor Williamson who is traveling to Atlanta, Georgia.

Williamson and her family arrived 3 hours early for their flight to only find out it was delayed until 7:35 p.m.

“The stay has been fabulous,” said Alex Vinal. “Getting out of here has been a struggle.”

Some passengers like Ackah Toffey had to reschedule. Now, he leaves for Ghana on Monday.

“You never know why things like this happened, so just go home and retool and get back on Monday,” said Ackah Toffey from Bear, Delaware.

Travelers on the road are seeing back-ups, too. Crystal DeBeary said it typically takes an hour and a half to get to Philadelphia from Crownsville, Maryland. But, she’s been in the car for more than 2 hours.

“Traffic has been stop and go stop and go,” said DeBeary. “We’ve been driving safely. Hopefully we’ll be there very soon.”

Redfern said Sunday is expected to be the busiest day of Thanksgiving travel.

She advises travelers to check their airline for the latest information and arrive at least 2 hours before the flight.