The overnight storm caused headaches for travelers heading into or departing from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
KENNER, MI — An overnight storm forced many people to rearrange their travel plans and spend the night at the airport.
And businesses lost sales on Friday as the disruption caused by Mother Nature left out power.
MSY said there was no serious damage due to strong winds and bad weather overnight.
There was some damage to small commercial aircraft and airfield equipment.
Although the terminal never lost power and has full generator backup, there were some technical glitches that caused headaches for travelers.
MSY officials spent the morning dealing with power surges, restarting flight displays, directing people around stalled escalators and waking up weary travelers.
“My trip was canceled three times. I was here at the airport for 30 hours. I left home yesterday. [at] 3 o'clock in the morning. It was so bad. I’m so tired,” the Baton Rouge man said.
A traveler returning to New Orleans from the Houston airport captured the Texas storm. It was completely dark and it felt like night.
“Before I sat down, everyone was told to get off the plane because there were high winds. I could hear everyone around me and everyone's cell phone alarms were going off. There was a tornado warning. “I was so excited,” Carolyn Schofield said.
She tried to go to New Orleans for Tulane's graduation and had to spend the night there with others.
“I felt most sorry for the people who were here for the graduation ceremony because there were a lot of parents on the plane this morning talking about how they were going to do this ceremony. I think they missed that,” she added.
Another traveler went to fill up his rental car with gas and return it, only to find the pumps at the gas station closed due to a power outage.
“So I had to bring my car in on the way home and they said they weren't going to charge me for gas. I hope not, because their gas is 9 per gallon. Because it’s dollars,” said a woman who left New Orleans. .
There were no midday lines at fast-food drive-thrus along Airline Drive, no illuminated signs, and no diners.
Customers at Charlie's Automotive Car Care Center in Kenner need to be patient, just like travelers. The power outage will delay car repairs.
“Everything was dark, you know there's a car in the elevator. It's all powered by electricity so you can't let them down. It's just a big inconvenience. Oh, and as for Friday, maybe 2 I think it's about a day,” owner Charlie Curry said of how long delays are expected.
One of Wagaman's customers described the state of the neighborhood after the storm.
“The fence was blown down and tree branches were sticking out in the middle of the road, like a tornado or something had come through. It's a little inconvenient, but of course this is Louisiana,” Rufus Portier said. .
Airlines will decide whether to fly the next time bad weather is expected. Therefore, please check directly with the airline to determine if delays or cancellations will occur.
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