Chilly weather slows down air travelers, holiday shoppers

Messy and cold weather made a mess of trouble at airports in the Midwest over the weekend.

The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids saw numerous flight delays and cancellations Sunday. Some travelers waited for hours, and some planned to stay overnight Sunday as the winter storm headed east.

“You have a really nice year and then boom the weather hits and that's the end of the nice weather for the year,” said delayed traveler Matt Miller.

This weekend's storm means winter is definitely here.

“I just figured it would all be done by now,” said delayed traveler Sarah Henderson.

And even though the storm system made its way past Eastern Iowa, the ripple effect is still ... rippling.

“Everything was just a standstill in Chicago and no flights were going on,” said Henderson.

Dozens of people sat in The Eastern Iowa Airport Sunday hoping to get on a plane and fly away.  Passenger Matt Miller was about to do just that.

“All of a sudden they say over the loud speaker we have too much weight so we need somebody to come off,” said Miller.

So Miller will now have to wait another 24 hours before he can head to Washington D.C.

Jeannie Boyce hopes to get back to a much warmer Louisville.

“Hopefully that won't cancel and we'll be to Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky,” said Boyce. “We might get stuck spending another night here. "

Outside the airport, airport officials are trying to do the best they can to de-ice the planes so travelers can make it to their final destinations.

“The airlines are doing the best they can to get planes and crews back on track as fast as they can,” said Boyce.

And for some it's a matter of making it back home to start the work week or finish the semester.

“Hopefully just getting home for my midterm tomorrow morning,” said Henderson. “Gotta get home or hope for forgiveness from my professor.”

Some airlines gave delayed passengers vouchers to ease the costs of their next trip.

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The holiday shopping rush hit a speed bump this weekend, as the inclement weather kept many from shopping.

Cedar Rapids'  Best Buy wasn't nearly as packed as store employees anticipated.  But one shopper braved the cold to get some last-minute holiday deals.

”Saw something in the papers with limited availability and limited amount, so I figure I'd strike while the iron is hot,” said shopper Keith Connerly.

Experts say holiday spending should be up this year compared to last year.  But it'll still be lower than sales in 2006.