Thanksgiving travelers in Chicago faced significant delays this past weekend at O'Hare International Airport due to winter weather conditions. The Federal Aviation Administration reported a ground delay until 12:59 a.m. Monday with average delays of 92 minutes as of late Sunday night. Additionally, O'Hare was under a ground stop for a period on Sunday evening but was lifted shortly before 10 p.m., as per NBC Chicago.
Running into history, Saturday's weather marked a new record at O'Hare with 8.4 inches of snow, the highest for a single day in November, breaking the previous record set in 1951. Amidst the traffic, formidably trying to reach the airport, over 300 flights were canceled by early evening, and around 1,600 were delayed, FlightAware tracked. Meanwhile, Midway Airport also saw a ground stop on Sunday due to a disabled aircraft that ended before 8:35 p.m., causing further traveler frustrations.
The disruptions continued with a small plane sliding off a runway at Midway Airport, which led to a brief ground stop on Sunday evening around 7:39 p.m. The Chicago Department of Aviation detailed that a private plane operated by Signature Aviation had become disabled after landing. No injuries were reported from the incident, and flight operations were expected to resume normally later that night, according to a statement obtained by ABC 7 Chicago.
Travelers dealt with significant road congestion as well, with AAA reporting the worst times to drive stretched between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday. "Red lights everywhere people not knowing where they're going it's crazy," Chicago driver Jennifer Barlind told ABC 7 Chicago, summarizing the chaos faced by those hitting the streets during the storm. The delays weren't confined to the skies, as the roads bore their share of bumper-to-bumper traffic with travelers eager yet hindered from reaching their homeward paths.
In light of the myriad delays and cancellations, passengers were encouraged by the Chicago Department of Aviation to check with their airlines for the most current flight information. As the snow wreaked havoc on travel plans, Emma Steele, planning to return to school at UW Oshkosh, resolved to drive instead, expressing her exasperation to ABC 7 Chicago, "I'm heading back to school in Appleton. I go to UW Oshkosh and I've been delayed, delayed, delayed. So I'm actually just gonna drive there at this point because my flight just won't take off."
