Early travelers struggling to make Christmas destinations

FLORENCE — Airline passengers looking to begin their holiday travel a little early found nothing but frustration and delays this week at several Southeastern airports, including Florence Regional Airport.

Adverse weather conditions and an unexpected increase in recreational travel through the Florence airport has cause some delays, Florence Regional Airport Executive Director Hartsell Rogers said.

“To be honest, we’ve had it sort of tough this week because of all the fog that been around,” he said.

Tuesday night’s foggy conditions made it impossible to land aircraft. The problem continued into Wednesday morning when there were no flights leaving Florence, Rogers said.

“The flight crews stay overnight in Florence, but they couldn’t land Tuesday; therefore, there weren’t any planes to fly Wednesday morning even though the fog didn’t prevent air travel,” he said.

Airport employees did encounter some fussy travelers who were flying with Delta and U.S. Airways, the airlines that provide service to Florence, Rogers said.

“If the weather’s bad, you can’t be mad at anybody but the Lord, and I don’t advise being mad at him,” he said. “You don’t want to be in the air during bad weather conditions.”

Airline booking agents were able to put most travelers stuck in Florence on later flights when available. Others were shuttled to Myrtle Beach where there was more space on larger aircraft, Rogers said.

Some inbound passengers from Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., were bused in or driven by limo to Florence, he said.

Even though colder weather is expected for next week, lessenings the chance for flight delays caused by fog, more people elect to travel by vehicle during the holidays than air, according to data from AAA Carolinas.

“They are not going as far and it’s more affordable, especially if you’re taking several family members with you,” AAA Carolinas spokeswoman Carol Gifford said.

About 807,000 South Carolinians and about 1.6 million North Carolina residents will travel by vehicle this year, she said.

Holiday travel overall is expected to be down slightly from last year. Vehicle travel however, is expected to stay the same with perhaps a slight increase, Gifford said.

Because of the slow economy, many Florence residents have chosen not to travel at all but rather to spend the holidays in their hometown, said David Frazier, co-owner of Ambrias Garden Manor Bed and Breakfast in Florence.

Frazier said he has received some holiday reservations from area residents.

“The economy is keeping people a little bit stationary from traveling,” he said. “We also have a local couple that’s celebrating some type of anniversary, so they’ll be here for a couple of days.”

Those who are traveling from north to south or vice versa have chosen the bed and breakfast as a pit stop.

“Florence is almost exactly halfway between New York and Florida,” Frazier said. “We have some guests from Washington, D.C., on their way to Florida who will be spending a few days with us.”

Whatever the reason for travel, guests seem to find the home’s three bedrooms, large, breezy porch and elegant dining rooms as a reason to return, he said.

“We treat our guests with respect and love we actually treat them like family when they’re here,” Frazier said.