United overwhelmed Departing travelers jam terminal; many wait hours for flights

Source: Chicago Tribune
Authors: Jamie Francisco and Lolly Bowean Tribune

The wait for some United Airlines travelers flying out of O'Hare International Airport on Saturday was so long, every little positive was accentuated.

"Every little step, we cheer," said James Dye, an 18-year-old college student who said he waited in line for four hours.

Dye and hundreds of others got their first taste of holiday travel frustration when they were forced to wait hours to check in for their United flights.

The Aviation Department ordered four buses for people to keep warm while they waited outdoors, she said.

The lines began forming around 8:30 a.m. and at one point overflowed United's Terminal 1 to the point where people were left waiting outside in 19-degree temperatures, said Department of Aviation spokeswoman Wendy Abrams.

The Aviation Department ordered four buses for people to keep warm while they waited outdoors, she said.

United officials said the logjam was created by a combination of added holiday travelers with extra luggage and a backlog of travelers who ended up at the airport after their Thursday and Friday flights were canceled because of weather.

"The same reason why lines are long at the department stores are the same reasons why the lines are long here," United spokesman Jeff Green said.

Green said the airline called in about 30 additional managers and supervisors to help screen and check in luggage.

"Right now there are a lot of people traveling with a lot of baggage," he said. "It just takes a while to get people through the lines." Waiting times returned to normal around 2 p.m., Green said.

The airline delayed 50 flights Saturday morning to accommodate passengers who were getting through the gates late, Green said.

He said the average wait was 75 minutes and the longest wait was three hours.

But passengers like Dye disagreed.

During his four-hour wait, the Notre Dame student said he witnessed a frustrated passenger scream into his cell phone at a United representative.

Milwaukee resident Zhaohui Wang said she waited more than five hours.

Wang pushed a cart holding five pieces of luggage, one for each member of her family. Though they arrived at the airport early, they still missed their morning flight to Miami, where they planned to vacation.

"It's a nightmare," Wang said.