Weather causes some delays at KCI airport

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Cold rain and snow contributed to several delayed departures out of Kansas City International Airport on Wednesday, predicted to be a day of record travel nationwide.

Most of the delays started after 9 a.m. and continued through to midafternoon, according to the airport’s Web site.

A majority of the delays were for less than 30 minutes, but some fliers were grounded for an hour or more.

KCI spokesman Joe McBride said the snow forced crews to de-ice planes, contributing to some delays, which he described as negligible. He attributed several other delays to bad weather on the East Coast, including New York, Boston and Baltimore.

Elsewhere, some trains were sold out, and light snow slowed traffic in Denver.

Surveys indicated that a record 38.7 million U.S. residents were likely to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday between Wednesday and Sunday, up about 1.5 percent over last year, according to the AAA auto club.

About 31.2 million of them were expected to drive despite gas prices that were nearly 85 cents more per gallon than they were a year earlier. The national average for regular gasoline on Nov. 16 was $3.09 a gallon, up from $2.23 last year.

Airports took steps to move people quickly Wednesday. Arizona’s Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport had about 400 volunteers on hand to answer passenger questions and help direct traffic, spokeswoman Deborah Ostreicher said.