US News

Blizzard threatens Christmas travel in US midwest

Dec 22, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - A severe blizzard could force airline passengers in the US state of Colorado to endure their worst nightmare: being stuck at an airport for Christmas.

A limited number of aircraft could be cleared for takeoff Friday at Denver International Airport, but it may not be early enough to get thousands of travellers to their destinations before Christmas Day on Monday.

The airport - one of the busiest in the US - had been closed since Wednesday after a blizzard struck mid-western states earlier this week. Only two of six runways were to open Friday afternoon, with a third possibly opening later in the evening.

Nearly 300,000 passengers have been affected by cancellations at the Denver airport since its closure Wednesday. With weekend flights already about 90-per-cent booked, up to 100,000 of those stranded may only get flights on Monday, Tuesday or later, the Denver Post reported.

'It's not going to be possible to get everyone out on their flights before Christmas,' spokesman Joe Hodas of Frontier Airlines told the paper.