SPOKANE, Wash. — Most people don’t have to worry about flight interruptions. But that wasn’t the case today at Spokane International Airport, as more than 10 flights got delayed or canceled.
“I need another flight quick. Or to rebook another hotel room really quickly. And I tried that. And the hotel room I just checked out of this morning, went from 114 a night to 300 a night," said Kelly Parson. She planned to travel to Seattle.
Her flight to Seattle got canceled and needs to spend another night in Spokane.
“It’s the only hotel room I can find, so I don’t have a lot of choices," Parsons said.
The delays and cancellations were due to volcanic ash that made its way over from eastern Russia. This caused headaches for many travelers.
“Can I just rent a car and drive down to Seattle? I’m sure it’s just a general feeling of frustration," said Chris Ryan. He was planning to travel to Mexico for vacation.
Most of the cancellations came from Alaska Airlines for flights flying to Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco.
Another traveler says his dream vacation now has to wait because of his flight cancellation.
“We’re heading to Iceland hopefully but got here and told us our flights were canceled," said Tom Tyson. "First I was a little bit short, but there was a really nice girl there who rescheduled us for tomorrow.”
Even with the frustration travelers are glad that airline staff made quick accommodations. Susan Parkins knows the situation could be a lot worse.
“They already have rebooked me on my phone, it said they rebooked me for tomorrow. The same flight times, so it’s not a wasted vacation.” Parkins said.
Mount Shiveluch, one of Russia’s most active volcanos, erupted on Tuesday. Since then, volcanic ash has been detected in parts of Alaska, the Pacific Ocean, and western Canada.
“As long as that volcano doesn’t cause problems for us tomorrow because I really want to go," Parkins said.
Many people said their flights that got canceled have been rescheduled.
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