Snow Cancels More Than 530 Of Denver Flights Monday
DENVER (AP/CBS4) - Airlines have canceled nearly a third of daily flights at Denver International Airport because of snow that's expected to continue through Tuesday.
Up to about a foot of snow could fall at the airport before a series of storms moves out of Colorado.
As of 4 p.m. Monday the airport reported 532 flight cancellations, or about 35 percent of the airport's 1,500 flights on an average day.
Travelers should call their airlines before even heading to DIA and prepare to be flexible.
"Frustrated; my husband can't even talk about it," stranded traveler Marie Green said. "So we are frustrated, so we just have to make a decision on what to do."
Kim Knudsen said her airline was proactive and called her.
"I was on a 2 p.m. flight to Chicago that was canceled. They rebooked me to a 3 p.m. I'm hear early and going to try to get out on the 1 p.m.," Knudsen said.
"Some of the airlines might also be offering change fee waivers to allow you to reschedule your travel plans without a financial penalty, so check in with your airline for that," DIA spokesman Heath Montgomery said.
Green and her husband say they're looking at all options because being stranded in Denver for three days, like United Airlines has told them, is simply not an option for the business owners.
"Another option is just rent a car and go home, but rent a car we won't be home until probably tomorrow," she said.
Planes have to de-iced for flights that aren't canceled. That takes an extra 15 minutes.
School was canceled Monday in some parts of western Colorado, including Grand Junction and Aspen, and the Eastern Plains. In El Paso County, county offices are closed because of the snow and the Defense Department is only requiring "mission essential" soldiers and civilian employees to report to work.
More snow is also expected in the mountains, where a foot or more of snow already fell over the weekend. That's raised the risk of avalanches, especially in the central and southwestern mountains.
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