Long lines form at Southwest Airlines as travelers try to head home

By TIM O’REILEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

12 years ago

Hundreds of Southwest Airlines passengers wait in line to check in at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The delays are largely due to a winter storm in the East Coast. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Ronald Vansyckle directs arriving Southwest Airlines passengers at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The delays are largely due to a winter storm in the East Coast. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Southwest Airlines passenger Joe Holman waits for his baggage to be checked after checking in at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The delays are largely due to a winter storm in the East Coast. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Arriving Southwest Airlines passengers head to the back of a long line wrapping around the building to check in at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The delays are largely due to a winter storm in the East Coast. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Southwest Airlines passengers are directed as the continue in line from outside to check in at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The delays are largely due to a winter storm in the East Coast. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Southwest Airlines passengers wait in line to check in at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The delays are largely due to a winter storm in the East Coast. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Hundreds of Southwest Airlines passengers wait in line outside to check in at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The delays are largely due to a winter storm in the East Coast. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The snow had stopped falling in the Midwest and Northeast, but the cleanup continued Friday at McCarran International Airport.

Long lines of visitors formed at the counter of Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at McCarran, as passengers tried to reassemble their plans to get home.

On Thursday, 18 flights from McCarran were canceled, according to flightstats.com, including 11 on Southwest. Friday was just as difficult with 20 scrubs, including another dozen by Southwest.

The list included not only departures to likely suspects such as Chicago, Albany, N.Y., and Philadelphia, but warm weather spots such as San Diego and Orlando, Fla.

In the latter category, planes were held up by bad weather earlier in the day. On top of the cancellations, dozens of other flights out of McCarran faced delays of at least one hour.