Airport Ghost Town: Many Flights Canceled As California Is Told To Stay Home
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — In wake of the coronavirus pandemic, flights are being canceled left and right, passengers are staying away, and the immediate future of travel is very much up in the air.
The red rabbit is lonely at Sacramento International Airport. This place was hardly hoppin' for a get-a-way Friday.
Lenique Glover has had four canceled flights.
"I walked in looking around and I was like 'Dang nobody's here,'" Glover said. "It's just crazy, it's really crazy."
She flew in from San Diego on Friday and had no problem practicing sky-high social distancing.
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"It was very empty in San Diego. It was like nine people who boarded next to my flight. My flight consisted of 16 people," she said.
And that's been about average. The airlines are reporting anywhere from 15 to 25 passengers per flight.
On Thursday morning, more than half of all flights at SMF were canceled.
Andy Carter is trying to get his friend, an exchange student, back home.
"This is her third time trying to get out of the country because the flights keep getting canceled," Carter said.
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As for places to eat in the airport, passengers are reporting only a few are open.
For those arriving in Sacramento, there is no way to mask the shock of coming back to this new reality. It's a silent snapshot of a bigger picture.
The travel industry is gutted and its future is left dangling as the country works to flow the spread of COVID-19.
