Few Last-Minute Travelers Remain

It was down to the wire Monday night for travelers trying to get to their holiday destinations. But many folks were already where they wanted to be.

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was relatively calm, and the big board showed few delays, even on flights to and from the northeast.

But one group of flights didn't stop for Christmas: the ones taking members of the Armed Forces back to Iraq and Afghanistan. As holiday leaves ended, so did Christmas for those men and women. Many told 11Alive News that they celebrated early with their families, and some of the kids even brought their new gifts with them as they said goodbye.

The USO also handed out care packages to departing soldiers.

Most of the soldiers said they were heading out for their final tours of duty, and were hopeful that they could be reunited with the ones they love in the summer of 2008.

"They know what I do, and they know where I'm at," said Sergeant Andrew Orton with the U.S. Army. "I call home every day. They know how hard it is."

"I was very fortunate that I never missed a Christmas at home," said Senator John Douglas (R), a veteran and USO volunteer. "These young men and women are making a great sacrifice, and I think it's imperative that we recognize that."

Some passengers that did fly into Atlanta, though, landed empty-handed. The winter weather left the baggage claim area littered with lost luggage.

At Hartsfield's baggage claim number five, passengers from Chicago told their tales of how they made it to Atlanta despite more than 300 bad weather cancellations. Their luggage, however, was a different story.

"When I arrived here in Atlanta, I was waiting for an hour, hour-and-a-half for my baggage," said Sandy Mateo.

Mateo, though, was one of the lucky ones. Rhonda Yates said, "I don't have any clothes, I don't have any toiletries, and I have Christmas presents in my bag."

And for Yates, each trip around the baggage carousel brought another sigh of disappointment.

"We don't want our family to go without Christmas"

Airport officials spent Monday frantically tagging lost luggage, hoping to make a special delivery in time for Christmas. They pulled through for the Yates ? 22 hours after their plane landed, they were reunited with their bags.

Also on Monday, a driver lost control of a Northwest Airlines tug and the tug slammed into the engine cowling of an AirTran jet. The driver suffered only minor injuries; there was no one on the jet at the time.