Passengers frustrated as ground stop continues for hours

More like a camping ground than it is an airport tonight for whoever is still left here who is hoping to get out on a flight. We're seeing some of those West Coast flights resume now. So I think people are starting to maybe hope that by late tonight, they could still get to where they need to go. This is a pretty busy airport, but I wanted to show you some things that I'm just observing here. And there are flight crews over there, but here are the boards. But if I could zoom in on this, and I'm not sure how clearly that's coming in, most flights are still delayed, not necessarily canceled, with a majority of them still scheduled to take off either late tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if that's. The truth or not, this is, I'm taking you from this vantage point, this is the gate area where we could see from up here. Look how empty that looks, Sharon, on a Friday night. And I've been to this airport, it's usually jammed. When a majority of flights will be taking off. I mean, there's a handful of people who've decided to stick around and wait this out and say, well, maybe my flight will get through. Nobody's at TSA. But I thought that was an interesting observation. I will take you down. An escalator here because there's multiple levels of this terminal and as we arrived here, we did see like the JetBlue check in line. It was pretty busy and I was surprised to see that too because I thought most people would not stay. But I'm gonna turn the camera around so you could just kind of get a feel of just people waiting around wherever you look kind of. There's a bar slash diner over here and that's been pretty crowded people just kind of waiting this out. It's out. Yep. And I'm going to take you down over here. Yeah, this is where the main check-in area would be in this airport. I'm taking you above. Small airport, but still a lot of flights. But take a look at this, Sharon. This is the check-in area for tonight. And they're looking like they're trying to rebook. Maybe they're trying to rebook their tickets, Richard, or get a flight sometime. It is very possible, but people do, you know, people, I've watched some of the people who are on this line walk into the terminal with their luggage because a lot of flights, at least out of here, and I think everywhere, are not necessarily canceled. The airlines are still delaying them. Yeah. So every carrier is different, but at least for this carrier. JetBlue, it looks like there are plenty of people who are waiting tonight to see if they can get those flights mostly out of this specific airport. They go to the south, so you're looking at mainly Florida flights, some south and North Carolina flights. We did see one to Chicago, but that's what we're noticing here. I have not had a chance to. Speak to anybody just yet as we got here, but people just looked pretty defeated, I think, and hoping that they will be able to get where they need to go. Richard, thank you for your update. We appreciate it. And I know you're going to get a chance to talk to some of those passengers. I want you to encourage them to go to the Fox Local app, Hit New York, so they can watch our streaming show and also go to Channel 5. We're on both tonight as this breaking news develops, because as I said, we're going to go right to the president's news conference as soon as it happens. And they should be able to update us on the very latest. So they're not going to want to miss that. We got you covered here. And I look forward to your interviews with the passengers. Florida sounds really good right now. Nice and warm, right? Thanks, Aaron. All right. Thanks, Richard. All right. As I said, we want to get to all of our local airports. Our Jennifer Williams is at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, where she's been for some time now getting the feel of what is happening there. We're going to check in. Do we have Jen? Yes, we do have Jen. That's great. Let's check in with Jen Williams and we'll hear from her. Boy, what a day. Jen, incredible. You're at a much busier airport, of course, than Richard was at at Newark International Airport. I'm sure you've talked to a lot of frustrated travelers. Yeah, you know, everyone's just honestly very disappointed. I'm sorry, I'm going to just take this out because I'm getting a little mixed media in my ear right now. But as we came in, it was very eerie. Everyone was looking at their phones trying to decide what... What to do next, as I walked in, it was around 6.30, I would say there were a lot more people here. It's thinned out a little bit. People are still, however, arriving through those gates. If you want to take a look at the board behind me, you'll see a lot of C's for cancellation. It's kind of half and half right now. I've talked to quite a few people flying United, Delta, JetBlue. Some people are being told every half hour that their flight is delayed. I've talked to maybe one or two individuals who have gotten the full cancellation. They are being told that they have to go to another area to request a refund. So, again, that's the one silver lining in this. But, again, talking to people who were traveling to Phoenix for a wedding or Cincinnati for their aunt's 70th birthday party or just to go home and hang with their family if they work in the New York City area. They're now flying back home for the weekend, the only time they get to spend with their family if they work in this area. So again, everyone's very disappointed, very frustrated. And you know what? What is it? 7.30 at night, there's quite a few people still figuring out their next step. This has been going on, Jen, now. We're closing in on three and a half hours. You know, it's really something. Right. Yeah. I I spoke to one gentleman, I mean, people have been, who was stuck on the tarmac for two hours around 2.30. His flight was eventually canceled, but it's been a long, there was a resounding, it's been a long day for everyone. You know, I was able to talk to quite a few people. Why don't we hear from them right now? Sure. Our friend's getting married and we just facetimed him and he looks so sad. We work with him like every day and we like got out of work early so we could make it to his wedding tomorrow and we might not make it. We're coming back home. Yes. Oh, and so you're coming from Newark. Yes. What airline? United. And what have you been told? So far. It's just a delay. We don't know. So we haven't even gotten to the gate. So we don't know. We don't know what's going on with Chelsea right now. And I am heading to South Carolina. I'm going to go see one of my favorite authors speak tomorrow at noon. Michael Cunningham. What what airline are you flying? And what have you been told so far? I am flying out of United Airline. And obviously we're seeing all the news here that That is not happening anytime soon. There's people all the way in the gates that have been waiting since 3 p.m., so. I think he's going to make it. I don't think he's going to get to see his favorite author at noon tomorrow. You know, that gentleman actually told us he was actually leaving to go rent a car and drive to North Carolina because he really wanted to see the author. But again, you know, I was talking, especially amongst younger people, this area, as we all know, is really tough to navigate and expensive to get out to the airport. I was talking to someone earlier. I would, if I had to guess, a guy in his 20s. And it's a rainy night. If his flight got canceled, it would have been much easier. It's a lot easier to just stay at home. We know how expensive the Ubers and Lyfts and the public, the ride shares can be in this area. So again, whether or not you get a refund, there's still just the time, the money on a Friday night when you're just trying to get... Out and, you know, see loved ones or return home or go on vacation. I spoke with, you know, a family coming back from Athens, Greece, as they were on their way to home to Arizona. And they're thinking of, excuse me, Georgia. And their next step, they're going to go rent a car. And that is a long, long drive. Yeah, it sure is, Jen. We really appreciate you talking with these passengers. And I have a prediction that, in fact, they're frustration- The level may grow as they find themselves, you know, sleeping in the airport, that the delay goes on and on and on. And it is Friday the 13th, after all. I know you and I are not superstitious, and yet, it is a little weird. Yeah, you know, and here's another thing. I was talking to someone about this. Between the weather, between the Giants-Commanders game, this area, there's no hotel rooms. He had issues with his flight yesterday. This one gentleman I spoke to, there were no hotel rooms available because of the Commanders-Giants game. Of course, I was there covering it. You know, and there were a lot of people up from D.C. when it's that close. Sometimes you don't want to make the drive. Just why not just stay for a big matchup like that? So a lot. Here's the thing. I'm wondering if there's going to be cars available. And that's something I can try to go ask about. And also cars available, hotel rooms available. It's just kind of a mess on a Friday night, you know, and. Again, with the holidays around the corner, I'm looking at a huge Christmas tree right now, and it's just not what people want to be dealing with. Jen, I'll wrap up with you, but we hope to check in with you again later after you get some more interviews. But I know you'll also be able to update us because this has affected a lot of the sports teams. Our Antoine Lewis brought that up a few minutes ago when we got an update from him. A lot of the different teams have league rules, and they have to fly on a certain day to get there. So this is really going to have a ripple effect, I think, right through the weekend. One hundred percent. 100%, 100%. All right, Jen Williams live for us tonight in Newark International Airport.