ATLANTA – Football fans from all over the world came to Atlanta for a beautiful game, then Atlanta weather stepped onto the pitch.Â
What we know:
A regional tornado watch led federal officials to issue a strict ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.Â
Derik Fine of Baltimore and George Kvita of Orlando were two of the many travelers caught in the chaos.Â
Fine’s flight was one of more than 200 delayed by the weather, while Kvita’s flight home was canceled entirely.
“I mean, when else am I going to do that?” Fine said before entering security to face the massive delays.
Despite the travel misery, both men still count the day as a victory and say it was well worth it to cross a World Cup match off their bucket lists. “It was definitely worth it. It was awesome,” Kvita said.
Data from the FlightAware “Misery Map” painted a bleak picture for anyone trying to fly out of Georgia on Thursday evening. Far from a draw, if misery were a match, Atlanta won in a blowout. Tracking metrics confirmed the airport suffered 215 cancellations and 14 delays and counting as the front moved through.Â
Officials have not yet confirmed how many additional international flights will face cancellations or if airlines will add extra routes on Friday to clear the backlog. It also remains unknown if the airport will provide emergency overnight accommodations for the thousands of fans currently stuck at the gates.Â
