ATLANTA -- As some travelers headed to hotels or a friend’s home for the night, others found themselves trapped at the airport with nowhere to stay.
11Alive was at Hartsfield-Jackson on Monday morning as travelers woke up and headed straight to the ticket counters looking to rebook with flights.
“Right now, at this point, I’m working on adrenaline,” one said. “So, I don’t think, at this point getting any sleep before 6 a.m., when I have to go to security gates is really viable.”
Empty water bottles decorated tabletops – one of the only forms of nourishment travelers could find in the airport’s dark hallways Sunday night. After little sleep, some shared a common complaint during the power outages’ aftermath.
“Nobody gave any information,” a weary traveler said. “You ask people questions, nobody knew anything. It is hard for me to believe this is the busiest airport in the world and they just didn’t care.”
This morning, though, most airline ticket counters appeared to smoothly re-open. And on-time flights replaced Sunday’s long list of canceled flights.
Those who stuck it out overnight jumped in line with some grabbing a ticket to make it home – hopefully soon.
“Yeah, we have a flight booked,” one of them said. “It is for 4:30 p.m.”
Others are on standby for flights overnight and could be spending another day in Atlanta.
“Been in the airport since 9 yesterday and won’t be out of here until 10 today at the earliest,” one frustrated customer said. “Been sitting in a chair all night long.”
And the luckiest checked their cell phones to find out they were automatically rebooked.
“I just checked the app on my phone and it said the eighteenth so I’m hoping everything goes according to Hoyle,” yet another displaced passenger said.
