Flight cancellations soar as storm disrupts travel plans across North Carolina and the country

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CHARLOTTE — An empty terminal and short TSA security lines is not normal at Charlotte Douglas Airport, but travelers Channel 9 talked to Saturday say they have been fighting the impacts of the storm all day.

“Our flights were canceled,” said flyer Frank Lorie. “Canceled.”

The departures board was covered in red. One cancellation after another and Sunday is expected to have some of the most weather-related flight cancelations in U.S. history.

“We had two cancelations so we had, we were ready for another flight,” Lorie said. “I spent two hours on the phone with the American Airlines, and then we ended up cancelling again, and now we’re here.”

Many flyers we talked to were on the last flights of the day, coming from warmer climates like Cancun or Punta Cana. Some even came back from vacation in shorts and tropical shirts.

“Unfortunately, this is my warmest clothes,” said Aurora Cunningham.

She was in Mexico Saturday morning. A stop in Charlotte was not part of the plan.

“We were supposed to go from Cozumel to Dallas, but then we got rerouted to North Carolina,” Cunningham said.

She was just one of many travelers Channel 9 saw looking at the cancellations, trying to figure out how they were going to get home.

“I’m hoping we beat it,” said Cunningham. “Yeah, that one was already delayed two hours. So we’re hoping it doesn’t get delayed even more.”

WATCH: What to do if you have to abandon your car during a storm

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