Tropical Storm Irene Forces SFO Travelers To Scramble For Rescheduled Flights

MILLBRAE (KCBS) -- Domestic and international air travelers at SFO Airport are being forced to change plans Sunday. Thousands of flights and hundreds of thousands of would be passengers are being impacted by the recently downgraded to Tropical Storm Irene.

In line at SFO's United ticket counter this weekend were Mike and Helen Jakobi of New Zealand.

KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:

They'd just flown in from Auckland and planned to head straight to New York for five days to visit a friend before continuing their vacation in London.

"En route they said that various airports were closing and they also told us that all the hotels in San Francisco were full," Jakobi said with concern in her voice.

The couple then tried to decide if they should rebook a flight straight to the UK or spend a few days in the Bay Area and go back to New York once the storm passes and air travel gets back on track.

"If things aren't so great; the shows are closed, the public transport's down, there's no real point in doing it," Mike Jakobi said pragmatically.

Behind them in line was Edward Karam who came out for his nieces' Napa Valley wedding.

He knew his flight home to New York was cancelled, but couldn't get through on the 800 number to rebook so came to do it in person.

"My sister in law who was here for the same wedding isn't flying out of San Diego. Their flight was cancelled. She and her husband and her daughter have to come back on three different flights rather than just the one," Karam said describing the ordeal.

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