Debby hits NC, grounding more Charlotte airport flights and extending passenger misery
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Tropical Storm Debby
The National Weather Services declared a flash flood warning was in effect for Mecklenburg County until 11 a.m. on Thursday.
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As Tropical Storm Debby drenched North Carolina Thursday, it also continued to make a mess of people’s travel plans at Charlotte’s airport.
On Thursday, 844 flights were delayed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and 33 were canceled at CLT, according to FlightAware, an online website providing real-time information. That makes for a total of 877 disruptions.
Last weekend, CLT had a total of 1,651 flights delayed. Since then and through early Thursday afternoon, the Charlotte airport saw 4,237 delayed or canceled flights.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Mecklenburg County until 2 p.m. on Thursday. A morning alert said the region had already received about 1 to 2 inches of rain.
Duke Energy reported there were more than 24,000 customers without power in Mecklenburg County at one point Thursday, although that number had fallen to about 18,000 by 1 p.m. And thousands of outages in surrounding counties still remained at that time.
Debby had made landfall in Florida as a hurricane around 7 a.m. Monday. It brought 80 mph sustained winds, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The storm was gradually shifting north Thursday afternoon, NWS reported. The main weather risks for Thursday and Friday continue to be flash flooding due to heavy rainfall and also isolated tornadoes. Flood watches and warnings remain in effect from the Carolinas to New Hampshire.
Debby frustrates CLT passengers
Tropical Storm Debby also continued to aggravate passengers trying to catch flights or arrive at Charlotte’s airport — one of the busiest in the world.
Customers took to social media to complain about their experiences today. One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) wrote on Thursday morning: “Those Charlotte cancellations really put a damper on my week. Ended up sleeping in a seedy hotel at the Phoenix airport for three hours.”
Another X poster said, “Stranded in the Charlotte airport more times than one needs in this life.”
And this passenger said on X. that it’s been a “crazy 24 hours. The Charlotte airport was filled with a lot of angry people who were stranded by American. The hotel we’re at had a two page list of people they were comping stays for (and it’s just one of three hotels they used). Wild.”
Meanwhile an Instagram user weighed in on baggage service on a CLT post for Tropical Storm Debby. ”Hopefully you can do something about the slowness at baggage claim. Every time I come home it’s (40-plus minutes) for luggage even when there is not a storm.”
American Airlines keeps eye on Debby
American Airlines continued to monitor the storm’s track and are prepared to manage any potential disruptions at CLT, according to spokeswoman Bri Harper. The company accounts for 87% of all flights out of Charlotte Douglas.
A travel alert is in effect for Georgia and the Carolinas until Friday, Aug. 9.
Customers whose travel plans are affected by Debby may rebook without change fees, according to the travel alert issued by American Airlines. They can reschedule travel at aa.com or by contacting reservations at 800-433-7300 in the U.S. or Canada.
Charlotte Douglas will remain open during the storm for stranded passengers, CLT officials said.
This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 7:54 AM.
