The Federal Aviation Administration closed airspace in and around Venezuela after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro was reported on Saturday, causing a domino effect on Caribbean air routes.
By Sunday, long lines had formed inside the airport as passengers waited for hours to find baggage that had been sent in advance – even though their flights never took off.
“As you can see, there’s a lot of people here and, obviously, thousands and thousands of bags,” said Jennifer Heimann, who was traveling from Tampa.
Heimann and her family were planning a catamaran cruise to the British Virgin Islands. Their flight to St. Thomas was cancelled, but their luggage still reached its destination.
“They said, ‘Your bags are in St. Thomas,’ and I said, ‘Wait — our bags are there and we’re not?’” Heimann said. “We can’t even get a flight before Thursday and they just sent the bags in advance.”
The family is now renting a car to drive back to Tampa and hopes their luggage will eventually make it home.
Similar frustrations were shared by other passengers in the terminal.
The Cookson family, traveling from Tyler, Texas, had their flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico canceled just before boarding the cruise.
“They send our bags to the Caribbean and won’t let us collect them,” said Pamela Cookson. “We don’t know when we will get our luggage.”
American Airlines said it added six additional flights from Miami, bringing the total to roughly two dozen flights and nearly 5,000 additional seats to help affected passengers. However, many passengers told CBS News Miami that the earliest available reservation is not until Thursday.
Susan Daniel, who was traveling from Little Rock, Arkansas to St. Croix, said the delays forced her family to make last-minute plans.
“We had to take an Uber, drop off our bags, find an Airbnb, then come back today, Uber again and stand in this long line just to hopefully get our bags and computers — everything we need,” Daniel said.
Some passengers waited for hours in one line, only to be directed to another long baggage claim line. Others tried to make the best of the situation.
“I guess we have a layover in Miami now for three days or so,” said Jake Boylin, who traveled from St. Louis. Louis. “Then we go home and plan the trip again.”
(Vijesti.ba)
