Flight issues for Labor Day travelers at STL Airport

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ST. LOUIS – Travelers going through St. Louis-Lambert International Airport on Labor Day face headaches amidst a slew of delays and cancellations nationwide.

According to AAA, the agency expects 32% of Americans to travel for Labor Day weekend, whether it be by car or by plane.

After Friday, Labor Day is expected to be the second busiest travel day.

“This airport life has been crazy all weekend,” said traveler Leslie Lloyd. “I had a delay this morning, I was really supposed to be here at 8 this morning but it’s 12 o’clock now, I’m just getting home, so I’d say to anyone booking to understand that you may have a full day of travel and not exactly where you want to be.”

According to an airport spokesperson, this is the 20th week in a row the airport has seen 100,000 plus passengers in one day come through security – a first since the pandemic.

Fears over constant delays and cancellations have many travelers anxious, waiting to see if their flight will be next.

“I was totally nervous,” said traveler Rachel Garrety. “We didn’t want to deal with it but then we thought we’d take a chance because we had this trip booked two years ago.”

According to AAA, Labor Day is expected to be the most popular in three years, with Orlando, Las Vegas, and Seattle among the top destinations.

Lloyd traveled to Las Vegas.

“I was a day late for my trip because there was not a plane big enough, they’re overbooking people and then trying to get their money later, so that’s frustrating but I made it back home!” Lloyd said.

A family of three from Springfield, coming from Orlando were offered a voucher to take another flight but they didn’t take it, because like so many, they were rushing back home before school started up.

“At least it tells you that they’re trying to be more proactive and trying to find out if there are cancellations and people willing to get miles or points,” said traveler Archana Nayani.

Another busy weekend plagued with travel issues, causing many people’s plans to continue to be up in the air.