Airport travelers play the waiting game
Many in the dark about radar glitch
When their 10:30 a.m. flight from Orlando to Boston was delayed, a couple from Woburn sat tight and waited for more information on their pending departure. They finally boarded their JetBlue flight around 12:30 p.m. -- and then they sat some more. They sat so long on the runway that the airline dispatched pizza to its passengers parked on the tarmac.
''We're home, finally," said Dean Canada, 35, whose flight, scheduled to arrive at 1:20 p.m., finally arrived about 6 p.m. at Logan International Airport. ''We wanted to kiss the ground once we landed." The plane ended up taking off from Orlando at 3 p.m. The normal flight time from Florida is about three hours.
The Canadas, like thousands of other holiday travelers, whether leaving Boston or attempting to return, found themselves delayed for hours because of a radar system that detected ''false targets" and forced federal officials to increase the space between planes from 3 miles to 5. Some travelers never made it to their destinations.
When word of the radar problem spread to passengers awaiting departure, some were scared.
''Yikes!" said Debbie Laraiso, who was trying to get home to Buffalo. ''If it's not real, then what is it? It seems dangerous."
Laraiso and three nieces and nephews ages 8 through 12 were scheduled to leave Logan shortly after noon, but were delayed to 12:30 p.m., then delayed to 2:20. Their flight was eventually canceled.
The next available flight to Buffalo was not until 8 p.m.
Many passengers were unaware that a malfunctioning radar was causing the delays.
''They insinuated that the weather was to blame, but they never really said why," said Jeff Luxton, 40, who was sitting on the floor with his two children, Matthew, 6, and Nicole, 4, in terminal C at Logan Airport.
The family was waiting for an
Told about the radar problem, Luxton's wife, Suzanne, 35, said, ''Oh, that's nice."
Marian Hankins, 55, of Norfolk, was supposed to fly out on a 3:35 p.m. Air Canada flight to Montreal, but it was canceled. She was rebooked onto a 5:30 p.m. flight. It was then delayed to 8:15 p.m. In the time that she ate, slept, and read at Logan, she could have driven to her destination.
Hankins was told the cancellation and delay was because of weather, but after doing some investigating, she heard about the mechanical difficulties.
''They say it's the weather; I've also heard that the radar system is down, but they aren't saying that part," Hankins said. ''I don't think anyone is angry. We want to be safe. If it is the radar, I don't know why they aren't telling people. You can only do what you can do. I think airports often shield you from the truth."
With confusion about cancellations and delays, lines snaked throughout terminal C.
Those who arrived early were not allowed to pass through security until two hours before many of their rescheduled departures, leaving many looking for ways to pass time.
Others were not so lucky.
For Chris Wawrousek, 25, an extended delay was not what his body needed. Already exhausted from running the Chicago Marathon (in just under three hours) on Sunday, Wawrousek said he was hurting as the plane remained stationary on the runway at O'Hare Airport for two hours yesterday afternoon.
''I have terrible luck at the airport. It's not anything I don't come to expect. It's frustrating," said the footwear designer from Somerville after he arrived at 6 p.m. ''Now I'm almost home."
Donovan Slack of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 
