113 million americans hit the road and took to the skies for what aaa estimates will be the third busiest travel season since they started tracking these figures since 2000. and to historic weather and that unprecedented travel meltdown for southwest airlines, many americans hope to just leave all that chaos behind in 2022. antonia hylton is at laguardia airport in new york city. thanks for joining us this morning. what are you seeing there right now? i know a lot of people are tired of all the ruckus for air travel. reporter: that might be even be an understatement. people are tired but they re also actually in a pretty good mood because it seems like the systems have course corrected. most people are not flying southwest. some people are shaken by what they saw happen this past week. people describe waiting in airports for 12 hours.
year s eve. we begin with our top story this morning, a major travel meltdown as passengers looking to dwet home after the christmas holiday are still stranded two days before new year s eve. and the situation among passengers has grown pretty intense. an oakland bound flight was forced to turn around after passengers began fighting. passengers on board were given $300 and put up in hotels for the inconvenience, but what a mess. and buffalo, speaking of messes, now recovering after the historic snowstorm that triggered many of these travel delays. the national guard now stepping this to help with the snow removal. and they are going door to door for wellness checks. joining us with the latest, nbc news correspondent marissa par live from buffalo, new york. blayne alexander is joining us
lied about much of biography. sources telling abc news federal prosecutors are now looking into his financial disclosures. aaron katersky with new developments. the dramatic images tonight as tourists race to escape fl flooding in one of the world s most famous archaeological sites. and america strong. the team of snowmobilers who answered the call of nurses in need. good evening, everyone. it s great to have you with us on this busy wednesday evening, i m mary bruce, in for david. we begin with that holiday horror, that travel meltdown. the eighth straight day of cancellations for thousands of stranded and frustrated travelers. southwest airlines under fire and facing tough questions. the airline canceling more than 13,000 flights since l.
qatar. germany s team lining up with taped mouths. denying us the arm band is the same of denying us with a voice. fifa threatened penalties if they wore rainbow arm bands with the phrase one love to promote human rights. so if you have people coming in for thanksgiving, i know i do right here, they may be cranky when they arrive. this is why. this is what they re dealing with. aaa expecting more than 54 million people to travel 50 miles or more for thanksgiving. now, for air travel, there s actually a lot to be thankful for today. only 45 flights have been cancelled so far today. that s according to flight aware. you heard that right. 45. just night and day from the travel meltdown that we saw this summer. and our coverage continues now the situation room.