East coast winter weather cancels dozens of flights at San Francisco International Airport

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The number of canceled flights was nearing 100 Thursday night between San Francisco and the major hubs of the northeast including Boston, Philadelphia and New York.

New York's JFK airport was shut down entirely, initially expected to reopen Thursday evening, but the FAA later reported the reopening would be delayed until Friday morning. For all the people you might expect to see lined up and camped out in SFO's terminals, though, the airport was practically a ghost town Thursday night. Officials say that means new technology Is working.

"Ultimately I think it'll be a few days before we see airlines getting back to normal," said SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel.

As snowstorms pummel the northeast, travel in and out of New York's three airports was almost completely halted, while travel to Boston slowed to a crawl.

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"All the flights before us were canceled to Boston, and the flight after us is canceled to Boston," explained Cecilie Pope, who initially thought her family's flight would be the lucky one to make it through. "But then when we got here it was canceled. And with five people, it gets a little tricky trying to get home."

The Pope family's plight pales in comparison to what Hans Andreassen is going through his family of 13 is stranded in San Francisco on the way back to Norway from three weeks in Hawaii. It's a big headache for them, and an even bigger one for the airline ticket counter.

"Our first representative, she got like, 'Well, I'm going home.' So she left us after 45 minutes," Andreassen said.

Experts say if you can, it's best to rebook before your flight is canceled.

"Take advantage of what the airlines are offering, and that is the opportunity to rebook your travel without having to pay any extra fees," Yakel said.

And though you'll still find determined travelers sleeping at airports, officials say it's a good sign there aren't more.

"Immediate cell phone alerts -- they're doing a better job than ever of notifying passengers before they ever get to the airport (that their flights are canceled) and that's really the goal," Yakel said.

After much wrangling, Andreassen said his family is rebooked to fly out on Sunday. Until then, he said, the kids can't wait to see San Francisco.

"They're kind of fed up with airplanes, so they're happier right now," he said.

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