'I Am Ready To Just Be Home:' Nurses, Families See Flight Cancellations As Blizzard Slams Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY — Thousands of flights have been canceled across all of New York's airports as a blizzard slammed the East Coast over the weekend, leaving people stranded and unable to return home.

Travelers have shifted their plans and had to fight for a place to spend the night, or in some cases, a few more nights, until they could get a flight to or from New York. The snowstorm has blanketed Long Island with up to about of 30 inches of snow in some areas.

Amanda Buzzitta, a hospital nurse from Ronkonkoma, said her flight from North Carolina to Long Island MacArthur Airport was canceled and rescheduled for Tuesday due to the weather disruptions. Buzzitta said she had to call out of work twice now, as she's been unable to return home.

The nurse said Avelo Airlines canceled her family's flight and told them they could switch to another flight free of charge – then the website crashed. She said they were number 601 in line for customer service, and then she was charged $500 when they had to rebook the flight themselves. Avelo Airlines rescheduled the family's flight that was supposed to be on Monday to Tuesday.

"I'm still waiting for them to contact us after sending them a complaint through the app," she said.

Even with all of the airline issues, she said her family is very fortunate.

"My family and I checked out yesterday from our hotel, but luckily, my sister lives down here, so we've been staying with her since our flight got canceled and sleeping on her couch until we can get a flight home," she said. "We tried renting a car, but all the cars were sold out."

Flights originating from NY on Monday saw hundreds of cancellations, according to FlightAware. As of 4 p.m. on Monday:

• John F. Kennedy International Airport had 561 canceled flights, or 90 percent of its flights, and 1 delayed flight.
• LaGuardia Airport had 516 canceled flights, or 98 percent of its flights, and 1 delayed flight.
• Long Island MacArthur Airport had 23 canceled flights, or 92 percent of its flights, and 1 delayed flight.

Destined flights to NY saw cancellations on Monday as well, according to FlightAware. As of 4 p.m. on Monday:

• John F. Kennedy International Airport had 553 canceled flights, or 89 percent of its flights, and 16 delayed flights.
• LaGuardia Airport had 518 canceled flights, or 97 percent of its flights, and 1 delayed flight.
• Long Island MacArthur Airport had 21 canceled flights, or 77 percent of its flights, and 1 delayed flight.

Tiffany Perez was visiting New York from Jacksonville, Florida when her girls' trip took a turn with a flight cancellation.

The 25-year-old said they were to fly out of John F. Kennedy Airport and were notified on Saturday around noon that there was going to be inclement weather, and were offered to rebook flights. They rebooked for Sunday to see if they could get ahead of the snowstorm.

Perez's flight was scheduled to head out on Saturday at 11:50 a.m., and she received text messages about delays from 7 a.m. until noon through the Delta app, but was also notified her flight was canceled.

"I had been calling Delta at 7 a.m. to get clarification, but did not get anybody for at least 2 hours," she said. "The AI operator told me the hold time would have been 8 hours long. It became very frustrating not being able to get in touch with anyone via phone or chat."

Since she was still getting flight delay text messages, she decided to test her luck and head out to the airport to see if there was a flight back home to Florida.

"While running to my gate, sitting waiting to be boarded, as the plane arrived, we were notified that the flight had been cancelled," she said, adding that she went straight to the Delta line to try and speak to someone in person. "At this point, I just wanted to be home."

She was rebooked on another flight, which was later cancelled. A Tuesday afternoon flight was also scrapped. Finally – third time's the charm – she was rebooked for Wednesday.

Perez waited out the blizzard in a hotel near JFK for two nights until the storm settled, but she had to pay for another night due to the Wednesday switch.

"Luckily, I was able to buy water and food for the next few days here," she said.

She said she was thankful she was able to find a hotel nearby, but was frustrated with how the situation was handled and the confusing messages she received via Delta's app.

Delta was not immediately available for comment when Patch reached out.

"This has affected my travel plans tremendously, causing me to miss days at work, having to pay extra hotel accommodations, pay for extra days at my airport parking back home, ensuring my pets are taken care of, etc.," she said. "It has been a crazy few days. At this point, I am ready to just be home."