Delays, cancelations mount in Philly, as slick roads pose threat to travelers during winter blast

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - Holiday travel is brisk at Philadelphia International Airport with building delays and cancelations due to winter weather in the middle of the country and the upper Midwest.

By late Thursday afternoon, the airport was reporting about 30 cancelations and 112 delays. "We’re really concerned about Chicago, it’s a big destination for Philadelphia," said Keith Brune the Chief Operations Officer of Philadelphia International Airport. He said, "Chicago is getting hit with a winter event really bad. We can expect delays and cancelations there."

Airport operators expect about 75,000 travelers to move through the airport during the busiest days of the holiday season. This heavily traveled period is starting with rain.

Alexandria Bottos, of South Philly, was anticipating an on time, smooth flight to Texas with a stop in San Antonio for a tour of the famed Riverwalk and on to Dallas for the Cowboys Eagles game. She is not concerned about the weather. ‘’Seems like we’ll be unaffected by it. We’re keeping watch. We’re set up for alerts, so far so good, but we’ll handle everything. We’re together, we’re with family. We’ll make it work."

Ramya Marasimha sits with her 9-year-old daughter and a mountain of luggage delayed to Dallas. Her late afternoon flight to Dallas is delayed threatening her connection on a 17-hour flight to New Zealand.  She said all she can do is hope and keep her fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, on the roadways, the Pennsylvania Turnpike was a soggy mess as many took to the roads early for the Christmas holiday.

Travelers at a King of Prussia rest stop talked about spending the day driving through drenching rain.

Most people said they tried to get the driving in Thursday before temperatures plunge Friday. But, the heavy rain didn’t make it easy.