Christmas flight cancellations cause headache for travelers at Sacramento International Airport

Sacramento – Thousands of flights were canceled nationwide on Sunday, leaving travelers to spend Christmas Day at the airport.

Several flyers said they spent between 4 and 8 hours at the gate and additional hours to retrieve their checked luggage after their flight was cancelled.

An announcement over the intercom guided travelers where to pick up their checked luggage. The sea of ​​unclaimed bags continued to grow throughout the day, with paper signs indicating which city the bag was for.

Daniel Williams waited in line for hours after his trip failed. He made plans to visit his daughter for Christmas. Instead, he watched her on FaceTime as she opened presents. Now as he tries to find another flight there is a roadblock.

“We’ll have to schedule it in a few weeks or a month,” Williams said.

Behind him in line was Jeremy Duez, whose family was about to go to Disneyland.

Some travelers, like the Valadez family, chose alternative modes of transportation to get to their destination. However, when Valadezes realized that his original travel plans were not going well, he set out on a journey.

“My second flight was canceled and I have to drive 14 hours to Idaho.

Others, meanwhile, have decided to forgo it and spend Christmas outside the walls of the airport.