TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The countdown is on for travelers at Tampa International Airport as they try to beat the winter storm expected to bring holiday travel to a standstill nationwide Thursday and Friday.
Even before the worst of the winter weather sweeps across the country, holiday travelers at TPA are seeing red on the departure and arrival boards.
“We were checking every few hours to make sure that we weren’t gonna be delayed or cancelled,” said Shelby Kindt who flew in from Kansas.
TPA’s busiest days will be Thursday, Friday, New Year’s Eve and Monday, Jan. 2.
During each of those days, the airport will see more than 75,000 passengers like Kindt.
She and her family made it out of Kansas City before the snow started to fall.
“So we’re just thankful to be out and here for our plans so we’re glad that we made it safe,” she said.
Whether you’re going to or coming from up north, many are gearing up to brave blizzard-like conditions as mother nature tries to upend this year’s December getaway.
“I’ve been watching that and monitoring it I know my sister is flying in Saturday and we’re worried about that as well,” Mary Bersche.
Bersche is glad her son touched down in Tampa after flying from Memphis through Charlotte to TPA.
“It was like a miracle,” she said. “I know bad weather is coming, but it felt like the first time in many years coming to Florida it was smooth travels–very rare.”
