KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A plane full of passengers arriving at Kansas City International Airport early Monday morning had to sit on the tarmac because storms prevented ground crews from guiding the plane to the gate.
A strong storm with lightning and rain passed over the airport at about 1 a.m. Passengers said the plane, arriving from Chicago, had to sit on the tarmac for about an hour before employees could safely guide it to the gate.
Right in the middle of the storm, sitting on the tarmac @Fly_KansasCity. #mowx @KSHB41 @fox4kc @kmbc @KCTV5 https://t.co/bXK98MKLxe pic.twitter.com/blJdsukUDd
— Michael Portman (@MichaelWPortman) May 8, 2023
“I do understand," Anthony Dawson said. "I wouldn’t want to stand out there in the lightning and the rain - it got pretty bad. I looked outside, it looked almost like a monsoon out there."
He said most passengers understood the importance of keeping airline and airport employees safe from the elements.
Passengers told KSHB 41 News there was a collective sigh of relief when the plane pulled into the gate.
“I think people were just tired. It’s not like they cheered like they usually do when a big thing happens. People just wanted to get off,” explained David Sequeira, a business traveler.
Some passengers parked in KCI’s economy lot reported further delays. One person said he waited more than one hour to exit the economy lot through the toll gate. He said only two gates were open, and he estimated there were hundreds of cars trying to exit at once.
“When I finally got up I said, ‘What’s going on?’ and they said, ‘We have a new system and we have to punch each ticket instead of scanning it,’” Pete Singh said.
Flights departing KCI Monday morning appeared to be on time.
