Passengers flying out of Tampa and Sarasota on Memorial Day experienced heavy delays and some cancellations.
Nearly a quarter of the 511 arriving and departing flights at Tampa International Airport were delayed and eight were canceled by the late afternoon, according to the airport's flight tracker. It's estimated that nearly 78,000 people traveled through the the Tampa airport on Monday.
While high traffic and some delays were to be expected, airport officials said bad weather was to blame for the surge in delays on Monday.
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Weather issues in Chicago, New York and Atlanta areas pushed back arriving and departing flight times, according to Tampa International Airport communications director Emily Nipps.
"I believe some areas have cleared up but the delays will have a domino effect throughout the day and evening," Nipps said in an email on Monday.
Travelers at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport experienced similar delays.
At 5:22 p.m., nearly a third of all flights were delayed, according to the airport's flight tracking dashboard.
