New Yorkers head to the airports for last-minute holiday flights amid American Airlines outage
As flights got back on track throughout the day, travelers told News 12 they were still met with long lines and delays for their last-minute flights before the holiday.
A nationwide computer error at American Airlines caused some Christmas Eve flight delays in New York.
At John F. Kennedy International Airport, 246 flights were delayed with two cancellations. At LaGuardia Airport, 149 flights were delayed - according to FlightAware.
As flights got back on track throughout the day, travelers told News 12 they were still met with long lines and delays for their last-minute flights before the holiday.
"I got delayed about an hour and a half - I got to the airport early because I figured it would be crazy and it was. Lots of crowds, lots of delays and upset people - but it could have been worse,” said Catherine McAuliffe, who traveled home to New York From North Carolina.
Others say they took red-eye flights looking to dodge those crowds.
"It's been a long day we have been up since 3 a.m. on a red-eye from LA, we wanted to get around the rush and be here home for Christmas," said Regine Grandmougin, traveling home with her family from Los Angeles.
According to AAA, this Christmas will beat the 2019 peak pre-COVID numbers for travel.
The TSA is urging travelers to keep things moving along by making sure to pack in empty suitcases without any items that could slow you down, including keeping liquid to below 3.4 ounces and encouraging PreCheck, as well as Global Entry.
