Gee: A ‘real big shoutout’ to those working in airports, in snowy conditions

KIRO Radio host Gee Scott has been trying to catch a flight out of town, but has had no success.

Travelers at Sea-Tac Airport grapple with ‘exasperating’ week of delays, cancellations

“I’ve never seen (the airport) that way,” Gee said on Seattle’s Morning News. “On Sunday, I tried to get out to Chicago, flight got canceled. OK, cool. So hey, what’s up with my bag? ‘No, you have to come back tomorrow for your bag.’ OK, well, it doesn’t matter. Hopefully they’ll have my back here when I show up tomorrow because I’m going to buy another flight.”

“I bought another flight on Delta so I could get out to Chicago,” he continued. “So I did the show yesterday from here and then, boom, headed to the airport. I figured I would get there really early. My flight wasn’t until 5:50 p.m. — I would get there early. I got there early around one o’clock so I can go downstairs and figure out the bag situation. It took me two and a half hours just to get told that my bag got shipped to Chicago.”

“So your bag made it out of town but you didn’t?” guest host Aaron Mason asked.

“Absolutely,” Gee said. “Which is weird because how would you guys fly my bag out when you didn’t even have me confirmed on the flight? But it took me two and a half hours to be in line. And that included me offering a guy 100 bucks to cut in line. That’s another story in itself.”

Delta then said Gee’s new flight would be canceled as well.

“Finally, I just say, you know what? It’s no big deal. I’m just going to go home,” he said. “Now, even though there’s frustration on my part, I want to just kind of take you guys into the real frustration going on there. There are people having their flights canceled. The airlines or airports, they’re not doing anything about it.”

Gee says the airlines are unable to handle lodging, so people have to figure that out themselves.

“Ubers, and Lyfts, and rideshares are charging crazy money,” he added. “There’s no lodging within 30 minutes of the airport. And let’s be real, we are the United States of America, you guys do know that there’s a lot of people who don’t even have 300 to 400 extra dollars in their savings account. I remember those days — I used to be flying broke. I mean, like all my money is wrapped up in the travel, right?”

“There’s a lot of people sleeping in the airport, struggling,” he noted.

The snow, ice, and rising COVID-19 cases have contributed to the flight delays and cancellations at Sea-Tac Airport, and at airports across the United States.

Puget Sound region’s run of freezing weather could linger into next week

After all that he’s been through, Gee says he can’t really complain. He’s safe at home and warm. But he says there are plenty of people at the airport yelling at anyone in a uniform.

“I want to give a real big shoutout to those that are working in the airport. … There were a lot of amazing people that were trying to do the best that they can, and it was just an unfortunate situation that happens,” Gee said. “And one last thing I’ve got to say: In my 40-some years of living, you know how many flights I’ve had canceled? This is just the first one.”

“It’s just a frustrating time. It all hit at once, but I just have so much empathy for those that are there,” he said about those working at the airport. “I saw a lady stomping and crying and just talking about like, ‘I don’t want to sleep here anymore.'”

Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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