DENVER — Hundreds of flights in and out of Denver International Airport (DIA) were delayed as a result of strong winds Wednesday, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.
There were 162 cancellations and 665 delays as of 9:45 p.m.
“We were supposed to start boarding at 9:07 a.m. on Frontier. Like 15 minutes before, they canceled our flight. They didn’t tell us why. That was basically what happened. They canceled our flight and I went to customer service. And they didn’t have any flights going out until Friday. That was the earliest," Dallas-bound passenger Eric Arriaga said.
In a tweet, DIA warned travelers to check their flight status with their airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) placed the airport on a ground delay program through 6 p.m., a spokesperson for the airport said. That was lifted earlier than expected, around 4:30 p.m.
"I was at a wedding Monday and I’m flying back today. And I get my message this morning that my 10:55 a.m. went to 12:30 p.m. and then to 2:55 p.m. So here I am waiting for my 2:55 p.m. flight," Barbara Mancuso of Clermont, Florida said.
While thousands of passengers experienced delays and cancelations, there were inbound passengers experiencing bumpy rides.
“It was just rough. A lot of turbulence," Tachisa Nichols of Atlanta said.
She was sitting next to her partner on the flight to Denver.
“She was squeezing my hand the whole time. I was asleep and I woke up, she was squeezing my hand," Preston James said.
For much of the day, the airport was only utilizing two of their six runways due to the wind patterns.
> 4 p.m. update: DIA delays and cancelations due to strong winds
In addition to checking flight status, airport officials asked travelers to allow extra time to get due to the airport because there could be delays on the roadways or on rail service due to the weather.
Ahead of the anticipated winds, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) announced Tuesday that the A Line trains to DIA would run on a 30-minute frequency throughout Wednesday.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Severe Weather