Airport delays due to Phoenix heat affects local travelers

PHOENIX, Arizona (KFOX14) — Flight delays out of Phoenix on Wednesday caused a ripple effect that was still being felt Thursday on flights from Chicago to Alaska.

Dozens of flights were delayed as temperatures reached 120 degrees in some areas. American Airlines was forced to reschedule nearly two dozen flights on its smaller planes.

Some of the smaller planes cannot fly in temperatures higher than 118 degrees.

The delays caused numerous overnight flights to be pushed back as the airlines tried to get things back on track.

KFOX14's Meghan Lopez was one of the passengers affected by the delays. She was supposed to return from Alaska at 10 a.m. but she was rerouted and she didn't end up making it back until around 2:30 p.m.

The gate attendant on that flight said the plane had to stop in Seattle to refuel because it was too hot in Phoenix to completely fill the tank.

Passengers waiting to catch their flights from Phoenix to El Paso said they weren't directly affected by the delays but saw how busy the airport was.

"This looks crazy; there's people everywhere. It's crazy compared to Ontario; there was hardly any people there," said Paula Brandt, who was flying from California to El Paso.

She said she kept checking her flight status for her connection in Phoenix because she was worried about a repeat of Wednesday's delays.

"I was worried about losing my flight here because I'm coming to El Paso for a graduation for my cousin from the Army school," she said.

Meanwhile, Alejandra Palacios, who was flying from Canada to El Paso, said she had no idea there were delays in Phoenix.

"Everything has been great and I'm coming all the way from Canada. I'm very excited to visit my parents and one more hour and then I'll be with my family eating Mexican food," Palacios said.

The National Weather Service sent out a series of tweets warning people that the heat is going to stick around through Saturday for the desert southwest.

It has been keeping a close eye on temperatures at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport for those triple-digit temperatures and warning people to stay indoors.