They were easy to spot, the ones who were stuck at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
They sat in groups, along the wall near the International check-in counters for Delta, usually with supersized duffle bags nearby.
A volcanic eruption in Iceland on Thursday has forced Delta and dozens of other carriers to cancel flights in and out of Europe. The spreading cloud of ash has led to 17,000 flights being canceled Friday.
Sisters Julie Currell and Jennie Phillips sat on the floor with their four daughters as their husbands waited in line to see if it would be possible to get a flight to London. The families had spent two weeks in Orlando and arrived in Atlanta last night, only to spend the evening in a nearby hotel.
They may not be lucky tonight, however.
“There’s a festival going on or something, so we may be sleeping here,” Currell said. “And, we haven’t got our baggage, yet, so we don’t have any clean clothes or anything.”
Phillips said they were told it may be up to a week before they can fly out.
“We need our clothes,” she said.
Delta canceled 75 flights – 38 from the United States to Europe, and 37 that are inbound to the United States. Besides flights in and out of Atlanta, Delta canceled flights in and out of New York's JFK Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, St. Louis, Memphis, as well as Pittsburgh, Seattle, Newark and Portland.
The Atlanta-based airline for Saturday has canceled 35 flights from Europe to the United States. It has not decided whether it will cancel flights on Saturday night.
The line to the check-in counters at Delta was jammed with people, though it was unclear how many were impacted by the canceled flights.
Justin Kraemer thought he was home free, having left Atlanta last night en route to Dusseldorf. The plane was over the Atlantic and then had to turn around and return to Hartsfield, he said.
“Then, we’re waiting, waiting, waiting,” he said.
Kraemer was in Costa Rica for a vacation. Now, he worries about missing exams at school.
“I’m too late, much too late,” he said.
Other carriers have also canceled flights Friday and into Saturday morning from Atlanta to Europe, including Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France and KLM. Those carriers’ cancellations included flights to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris.
It’s unclear how long the effects of the volcanic ash could last. Meanwhile, some passengers may be stranded in Europe, and Europeans may be unable to get back home easily. Delta said it is offering reduced rates on hotel rooms for those passengers, and said passengers stuck at connecting airports can return to their destination or get a refund on the unused part of their ticket.
Delta, which has its own flights to Europe as well as a joint venture with Air France-KLM, had no details on what the financial impact could be from the disruptions, according to spokesman Anthony Black.
Passengers aren’t the only ones unable to travel to and from parts of Europe. Cargo is also not moving.
Even when flights resume, it could take some time for passengers to get onto rebooked flights to their destinations. Air France said on its website that due to school holidays in France, all flights departing Paris are already fully booked through Sunday, April 18. KLM told passengers on its website that “when the airspace opens again, it will take some time to fully reinstate the planned schedules.”
The airlines asked passengers not to go to airports if their flight is canceled. KLM acknowledged long wait times at its sales and service centers.
British Airways and other airlines “have less capacity, less wiggle room to accommodate passengers who have been inconvenienced by this,” said George Hobica, president of Airfarewatchdog.com. “Planes are pretty full and we know that because fares are higher than they were.”
“Basically they have nowhere to put people,” Hobica said, who is canceling his own planned trip to London. “A lot of people are just going to have to not go.”
Although some travelers bound for London may be able to get to other places in Europe, “the trains are going to be jam-packed because you can’t fly,” he said.
Those travelers stuck in Europe for extra days may find some hotels full, and others much more expensive, Hobica said.
“I could see this as being extremely upsetting to many travelers, particularly younger travelers or people on a budget,” he said.
Hobica said some travel insurance would cover this type of a situation, up to a limited amount of coverage. But it’s somewhat unprecedented to have so many major airports shut down due to volcanic activity.
While volcanic ash has caused flight cancellations in places like Alaska and Indonesia, “when we’re talking about Europe, the heart of Europe, that’s when it becomes difficult,” Hobica said.
And it’s unclear how long the impact could last.
“Everything is up in the air, no pun intended,” Hobica said. He suggested that those who absolutely must get to England for a summer wedding, for example, “take a close look at going by ocean.”
“Obviously it’s not for everyone (but) I don’t think anyone really knows when this is going to go away,” Hobica said. “You don’t know if that volcano is going to spew again,” he said.
It took an extra day for Hoschton resident Charlie Wetzel to get to Gloucester, his wife, Stephanie Wetzel told the AJC. His plane took off from Atlanta several hours late Wednesday night, and his connecting flight from France to England was canceled by the time he arrived.
“When he arrived (at Charles DeGaulle Airport), he texted me and said they had no idea what was going on.
According to Stephanie Wetzel, her husband’s route to Gloucester included standing in the Air France line for more than an hour, taking a three-hour bus ride across Paris to a hotel and then finally securing a Eurostar high-speed rail ticket to England.
“I spent most of yesterday on my phone and on my computer,” Stephanie Wetzel told the AJC.
Charles Wetzel is scheduled to fly back 10 days from now.
“We’re hoping that there are some breaks in the [ash] clouds so that he can get out,” Stephanie Wetzel said.
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