Hundreds of flights canceled, delayed at O’Hare airport as winter storm disrupts travel

Hundreds of flights canceled, delayed at O’Hare airport as winter storm disrupts travel

A ground stop was issued at O'Hare International Airport on Monday after a winter storm blanketed the region with snow and ice. 

CHICAGO - Airports are working to recover after extreme weather grounded flights nationwide on Monday. 

At the same time, airlines are urging Congress to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security. The partial government shutdown means TSA workers aren’t being paid, and more than 300 have already quit.

What we know:

A ground stop was issued at O'Hare International Airport on Monday after a winter storm blanketed the region with snow and ice. 

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the ground stop for departures just after 8 a.m. It expired at 9:15 a.m.

By 7 p.m. Monday, roughly 1,200 flights were delayed at the airport, while more than 550 were canceled. At Midway, delays topped 250, with about 60 flights canceled.

Ground stops were also issued for several hours on Sunday afternoon at both airports due to thunderstorms, canceling hundreds of flights in the wake of St. Patrick's Day celebrations that brought thousands of visitors to the city.

What they're saying:

Passengers at O'Hare came prepared to wait on Monday afternoon, with one woman delayed for five hours. 

"The minute I got here, there were all these delays, so I'm going to grab a bite to eat, get some Chicago food, and just hang out," said Fatima Sutherland, who is returning home to Dallas. "I work tomorrow, hopefully I get home."

Another traveler was diverted mid-air before she was scheduled to return to Chicago around 6 p.m. Sunday, and was glad to touch down on Monday.

"Punta Cana to Chicago, we were 30 minutes out, and they re-routed us to an area with Customs, and the closest I guess was Washington, D.C.," explained Azalia Wilkerson. 

One family is traveling to India for a birthday celebration and has had trouble getting out. 

"We were supposed to leave last Thursday. The flight was canceled. That was Lufthansa because of the pilot strike in Germany, so they canceled the flight, got pushed two days, then we couldn't leave. Today's the earliest we could leave," shared Johnson Selvaraj. "Keeping the fingers crossed."

But there is one traveler FOX Chicago spoke with who seemed to escape the chaos entirely. If all goes accordingly, he'll be in Portugal by morning.

"We got TSA pre-pass, so everything's been like bang, bang, bang, easy, no problems at all, thank God," said Alfonso Gamboa. "And it's supposedly 75 degrees tomorrow when we get there!"

What's next:

Passengers are encouraged to keep a close eye on their flight status before traveling to the airport.