They are called the friendly skies, but they haven’t been so friendly to air travelers this week.

On Wednesday at the South Bend Regional Airport, airline passenger horror stories weren’t hard to find.

“I flew in nine-thirty Monday night, I was about ten feet from the runway, but the runway was iced over, they were having brake problems as well, so they flew us to Fort Wayne,” said Victor Kerrick. The last leg of Kerrick’s two-day trip from Clearwater, Florida was made by bus.

Clearly, he needed a holiday hug, which his grandmother Barbara of Osceola was only too happy to provide. “It’s been a little--back and forth to the airport, to home, and back to the airport,” she said, “but everybody is home for the holidays.”

Renee Thoms was desperately trying to leave South Bend for the holidays. She had already suffered a delay in her complicated plans to get to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “I’m very behind schedule,” Thoms said. “I might not make it to any of my flights so I’m hoping, I’m praying.”

Thoms’ South Bend flight was supposed to leave at 12:36 p.m., but she was told it would be closer to 2 p.m.
Thoms had connections to make in both Chicago and Charlottesville.

John Allegretti arrived in South Bend this afternoon, ending a 30-hour journey from Honolulu, Hawaii. “(It) took us seven and a half hours to get to Chicago; we were supposed to leave about an hour later, which ended up being approximately four hours later. We finally arrived here, and we’re now waiting for the baggage that didn’t arrive.”

Despite the perils of being a passenger, Renee Thoms was trying hard to stay in the holiday spirit. “It’s very worth it in the end to see family, be together with them, it’s the greatest thing you can have so, I keep thinking that in my mind so I won’t be so upset when I’m sitting here for four more hours,” said Thoms.