Cold snap plunges US airports into chaos

Winter weather forced an estimated 400 flights to be cancelled at Denver International Airport in Colorado over the weekend. Photo / 123RF

It's just four sleeps until Christmas, and things are officially crazy.

If you're dreading holiday traffic, spare a thought for the tens of thousands of commuters trapped in airports across the United States due to a cold snap.

Winter weather forced an estimated 400 flights to be cancelled at Denver International Airport in Colorado over the weekend, with a storm dumping about 45cm of snow on the runway.

Instagram photos show bedlam inside the terminals, as hundreds of suitcases piled up on the floors and luggage carousels.

Instagram user Julie Marie said travellers were waiting more than two hours to collect their luggage, adding that there had been some fights.

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Airport disaster in #Denver at #DIA... 2.5 hour wait to get luggage ... fights .. people climbing in the carousel... holiday fun!! How is this acceptable?! #weatherdelay #airport #dia #whereismybag #snow #madness #happytravels #happyholidays #colorado #denverinternationalairport #holidaytravel #delays #mytravelpic #nightmare

A post shared by Julie Marie (@bellalavita16) on Dec 18, 2016 at 2:20pm PST

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Dear Luggage, where are you? I waited in the plane for over 5 hrs on the tarmac only to find out you were not on board...I miss you, I need you. Please come home, I promise to never overpack you again😢

A post shared by Lisa Larisch Phillips (@llarischphillips) on Dec 20, 2016 at 9:35am PST

Jacob Bolm shared a picture of the chaos, saying he had to go back to the airport to pick up his bag and that the situation was "still a mess".

Passengers on a flight from Atlanta in Georgia were reportedly stuck inside the aircraft for five hours after landing before they were able to exit the plane.

Even when the weather isn't to blame, travellers face plenty of other difficulties.

A 27-year-old bride-to-be was among hundreds of passengers stranded at Queens airport in New York after a series of sudden cancellations.

Leezel Cambridge spent her wedding day curled up on the airport floor with her dress and 15 family members, while her fiance told their 300 guests she wouldn't make it to the ceremony in South America.

"I had to cancel it," she said of her nuptials.

Guyanese bride-to-be misses her own wedding after Dynamic flight cancelled https://t.co/DgmM26t1X3 pic.twitter.com/s9Vyv4Gxf1

— Stabroek News (@stabroeknews) December 19, 2016

Francine Bascom, a 24-year-old Brooklyn mum who had a ticket on the same flight, missed her newborn's christening on Sunday and may have to cancel her own wedding next weekend because of the travel nightmare.

"I should be in Guyana happy and bouncing around," she fumed to theNew York Post. "But I'm in New York pissed off."

The discount airline initially told passengers the cancellation was because there was something wrong with the plane's wing, but it has since cancelled three flights, which make up all of the airline's service to Guyana.