Detroit Free Press Ellen Creager column

Source: Detroit Free PressJan.迷你倉最平 06--Things were not pretty this morning at Detroit Metro Airport., where backups mounted and only two parallel runways of four were open for aircraft.Snow removal took up the third runway.The fourth runway was still disabled and unusable due to its electronic systems failing Sunday. Although the instrument landing system is back up, the rest of the runway's electronics are not."At this point we don't know when it will be fixed; it's FAA equipment," said Michael Conway, airport spokesman, this morning.As the day goes on, conditions should improve at Metro if there is no more snow and they can keep three runways clear, he said. Cold temperatures alone do not harm aircraft.The airport roads were passable, although Middlebelt Road was in poor shape this morning, he added.About 500 people spent the night at Metro last night."The delays were awful, but the airlines did get most people out," he said. A lot of metro-Detroit area passengers just went home last night, to try again today.One person who spent the night at the airport was Ashley Rock.She was enroute home from Japan to Newport News, Va. when her connecting flight in Detroit was canceled at noon yesterday. She spent 22 hours at Metro -- but not on the floor."I was extremely blessed to stay in the Freedom Center lounge here in the airport last night," she said this morning. "They had snacks, water and sleeping迷你倉mats and opened up all their hospitality last night cause of all the cancelations. The lady who was in charge was so sweet and generous and despite the crazy amount of other people in the same situation as me, she and the other people working hard to make sure we were comfortable were just so awesome and made spending our night at the airport much more bearable. I'm so thankful for the USO and everything they do to not only support active duty military but also military dependents like myself."Signaling another grim day for flying, 11 of 17 departures out of Detroit Metro that were due to depart between 6 and 7 a.m. this morning were canceled.Only 1 of the other 6 flights was in the air -- Spirit Flight 316 to New York LaGuardia, according to FlightStats.com, which tracks flight operation data, and FlightAware.com, which tracks flights actually en route.Delta and other airlines once again today offered weather waivers for Midwest travelers.However, more than 27,000 flights nationwide were canceled or delayed over the weekend, so anyone scheduled to fly should check flight status before leaving home for the airport to see if their flight already has been canceled and rebooked.Delta is Detroit Metro's largest carrier (800-225-2525; @deltaassist on Twitter.)Copyright: ___ (c)2014 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at .freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage