Snow Delayed Flights at Monroe Airport

The snow shut down roads, shut off the lights, and also messed up travel at the Monroe Airport.

We rarely see snow in the Ark-La-Miss, so when five inches of snow walloped Monroe, folks at the airport had to get busy moving snow and flights.

Some planes and people had to wait for hours until they were cleared to take off.

As the snow piled up around the airport, the lines backed up at airline counters.

At least six flights were cancelled and that crowded a usually quiet waiting area, but this guy still managed to get a little shut eye.

Travelers like Sean Teets from Ruston were supposed to fly out Thursday but that flight was cancelled but he finally flew out Friday.

"I decided just to stay here at a hotel and was going to get on a 6 a.m. flight and then that got cancelled,” said Teets.

Crews were out spraying down planes with De-Icer early Friday morning.

Officials say all the snow must be off of the plane before it can take off, and that caused several delays.

"The gentlemen riding on my flight were very nervous because they stayed the night last night and they were held 45 minutes off schedule today,” said Paul Domino who was returning from a business trip.

Paul Domino is happy to finally be home with his son and wife Abby had been waiting for him.

Abby is originally from South Dakota but has lived in Bastrop for six years.

"It was barely snowing and some of the people said oh it's snowing outside and up in South Dakota right now they have feet and a whole bunch of snow up there,” said Abby Domino.

Airline officials in Monroe blamed most of their delays on airports being backed up around the country like Houston and Atlanta.

Domino says his flight from Memphis was delayed 45 minutes because the plane didn't have a flight attendant.

"Everybody’s got a schedule and all it takes is just one person's timeline being off and it messes everybody's schedule up,” said Domino.

Most of the snow melted in the Ark-La-Miss by Friday afternoon, but for Teets, he's headed to Ohio and even more snow.

"I’m hoping to go back to Ohio and do some skiing over the Mardi Gras break. (For even more snow?) Yeah there's a lot of snow where I’m going,” said Teets.

The airlines we talked to today say they always have a supply of De-Icer at the Monroe Airport whether they know snow and ice is coming or not.

Most flights were able to leave Monroe after the snow flurries stopped by mid-morning.