The terminals across Eastern North Carolina are finally buzzing again as airports from Wilmington to Jacksonville shake off the remnants of the weekend’s historic freeze.
While the snow has been cleared from the runways at Wilmington International and Coastal Carolina Regional, the atmosphere remains a bit tense for travelers. Most flight boards have shifted from a sea of red cancellations to the occasional yellow delay, signaling that the regional aviation system is slowly stabilizing after the storm's peak.
The real challenge for passengers today isn't the local weather, which has turned clear but remains bitterly cold, but rather the backlog at major hubs.
Because so many aircraft were grounded in Charlotte and Atlanta during the height of the nor'easter, airlines are still playing a game of musical chairs to get planes and flight crews back into their proper positions. This means that even if the sky is blue in New Bern or Greenville, a flight might still be pushed back because its incoming aircraft is stuck behind a de-icing queue elsewhere.
Ground crews are working overtime to manage these lingering disruptions, and airport officials are advising anyone with a ticket to stay glued to their mobile notifications before heading to the terminal.
While the worst of the "bomb cyclone" has moved out to sea, the recovery of the flight schedule is a slow process, with full normalcy not expected until later in the week as the backlog of stranded passengers finally begins to clear.
