Fog, snow and repairs hurt air travelers around Midwest

Add comment December 27th, 2007

Been a tough December for Midwestern air travelers.

On Friday, Allegiant Air had to delay or cancel several flights in and out of Chicago Rockford International Airport. One flight was diverted to Green Bay, Wis., for several hours. Passengers in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla., had to wait until Sunday to get a flight back to Rockford, and one called to complain that Allegiant didn’t give them good information about rebooking that flight. It was certainly a bumpy weekend for the fast-growing discount carrier, which generally only has ground staff at its Las Vegas base and doesn’t have the infrastructure of the major carriers.

Of course, being a big carrier at a big airport doesn’t always save you, either. At least 170 flights were canceled at Chicago O’Hare International Airport Saturday because of the Great Fog of 07.

Meanwhile, ultra-low-cost-carrier Skybus had to ground two of its planes for repairs on Christmas and Wednesday, canceling flights that affected at least 1,000. Milwaukee flyers were among those affected.

Finally, United Airlines canceled dozens of flights today due to snow in Colorado, including the morning flights between Rockford and Denver. For now, the 1:55 p.m. flight from Rockford to Denver is scheduled to leave on time, but the evening return flight may be a little late.