Charlotte couple’s first anniversary ends with flight delays from Debby

( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Thousands of passengers across the country remain stranded as airlines cancel and continue to delay flights due to impacts from Tropical Storm Debby.

Among those passengers includes a Charlotte couple who began stranded in Boston while celebrating their first anniversary.

Alexa Combs and her husband Cory Meigs said the change is a logistic nightmare.

“A little bit of frustration just because this is out of our control and somewhat out of the airline’s control,” Combs explained over FaceTime Monday as they sat outside the airport in Boston.

“We didn’t bring our work laptops so we’re trying to deal and work schedules,” she explained.

The couple visited Boston last week before the full path of the storm was mapped out in the Caribbean.

However, when Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida on Sunday it caused the couple’s flight home to be delayed twice, before it was ultimately canceled.

“This is a nightmare with logistics, but we got an extra day in Boston,” Combs said. “There are worse ways to spend an anniversary.”

The couple was denied a hotel voucher and were on the verge of spending more than $1,600 on Monday flights before they found any early morning flight for Tuesday.

“Hopefully we can get in before the storms hit and just be done with this nightmare,” Meigs.

As they fight to get back to Charlotte, others fight to leave.

Monday evening, more than 300 flights had been delayed out of Charlotte, while more than 160 were canceled outright. This comes just weeks after a worldwide software outage led to similar headaches at CLT and across the country. As of Tuesday afternoon , nearly 200 delays and 60-plus cancellations were reported.

Passengers were seen sleeping in the airport or fighting to find a last-minute flight.

Many passengers expressed frustration due to being told it would be Friday before they could get a flight.

One woman said her son-in-law drove from Daytona Beach, Florida, to pick her up.

The trickle-down effect of the delays had also impacted baggage claim. Dozens of passengers waiting in long lines next to Queen Charlotte’s Kitchen to pick up luggage from a pile of pieces.

Some passengers, however, were not so lucky.

Christine Chisholm landed in Charlotte Monday several hours after her luggage did.

She said that though it had been checked in, it was nowhere in the airport.

“It’s so disorganized, it’s crazy because I’m not the only one who lost my bag,” she explained.

While she did not know if it was misplaced or stolen, she said she planned to file a claim with the airline and see if police spotted any suspicious persons.

“It’s just crazy that someone could have possibly just come in and taken my bag.”

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