L.A. flights affected by storms back East
As a winter storm system paralyzed air traffic in much of the Midwest and Northeast on Wednesday, travelers at Los Angeles International Airport encountered dozens of canceled and delayed flights.
Airports in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia and Chicago were among the hardest hit, but the storm had a ripple effect on other air travel hubs nationwide.
Cancellations affected more than 8,000 travelers flying in and out of LAX, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
The storm caused United Airlines -- which has hubs in Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago -- to cancel two dozen flights in and out of LAX by Wednesday afternoon, said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy.
Tony Russo, a restaurant manager from Manhattan Beach, arrived at LAX this morning to drop off his mother, who had been visiting from his hometown of Cleveland. He learned the flight had been delayed four hours and could be canceled because of the snowy weather.
“I just called my family and they said, ‘Stay there if you can because it is terrible out here,’ ” Marian Russo, 83, said.
The storm also put a damper on some Valentine’s Day plans.
Judy Nicely, 68, a state judge from Akron, Ohio, said she came to California to vacation in Palm Springs and Pasadena with her husband, Al, a retired ophthalmologist.
Today was the 49th anniversary of their first date, and they had hoped to get home in time to celebrate.
Instead, they decided to put off their flight for a day and visit the Getty Center.
“Sitting in an airport isn’t the most romantic way to spend Valentine’s Day,” she said.
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