Denver International Airport had all six of its runways in operation this evening and airlines continued to work at accommodating passengers who had been stranded by the spring storm that swept through the area Tuesday night and this morning.
As many as 5,000 people spent Tuesday night at DIA and the airport provided cots, blankets and mats to make them as comfortable as possible, officials said.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled during the storm and airline representatives said it would take until Thursday or Friday to take care of all the rebooked passengers.
Frontier Airlines spokeswoman Lindsey Purves said this is the spring break travel period and carriers normally are flying full loads, so it takes time to accommodate travelers whose flights were cancelled.
DIA spokesman Jeff Green urged all passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flights before heading to the airport.
He also said travelers should allow extra time for parking, ticketing and getting through security.
Erik and Bodil Schack of Fredensborg, Denmark, were among those lined up at ticket counters today seeking to rebook flights that were cancelled last night.
The couple had flown Tuesday to DIA from Tucson, Ariz., on United, hoping to connect to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, and ultimately home to Copenhagen.
Their O’Hare flight was cancelled Tuesday, and they were kept in limbo until midnight, Bodil Schack said, until United gave them hotel vouchers.
They reached their hotel at 2:30 a.m. and were back in United’s ticket line at 8 a.m. today.
“We don’t know where our luggage is,” Erik Schack said.
Wendy Goodale and Galina Ivanova were waiting all day for their 9:30 p.m. United flight to Omaha tonight.
The women sat on the terminal floor on mats and blankets they got Tuesday night when their flight to Omaha was cancelled.
They had tried to sleep through the night on the thin mats, but it wasn’t easy, Goodale said. “We tossed and turned all night.”
She was returning home to Perry, Iowa, and Ivanova was trying to get to Omaha to visit her daughter.
Stephanie and Jason Stoke, of Golden, also sat on the floor today on the airport’s blankets and mats. Their 8:30 a.m. flight to Billings, Mont., on Frontier had been cancelled and they were rebooked for 7:30 tonight.
But the Stokes were not troubled by the long wait.
“It’s fine. This airport is lovely,” said Stephanie Stoke, a physician traveling to Billings for a job interview.
Flight information boards for Frontier showed most afternoon departures were on time or with only slight delays.
Some passengers weren’t having any problems.
Rob and Christina Howery and their two daughters from Ken Caryl were ready to board an on-time United flight today for San Francisco.
They smiled as them moved toward security: Their ultimate destination was Hawaii.
