"We just flew yesterday night from Anchorage [Alaska] to Houston," stranded passenger David Wang said. "We plan to go back to New York City, but we're stuck here."
Airport closures from New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports to Newark and Philadelphia created a backlog for carriers whose own crews have been stranded until it's safe to fly again.
"We get there when we get there," said Robert Davis, who was on standby Sunday with his family, waiting to get back to Philadelphia. "Now, they've got us, like, possibly 4 o'clock or 7 this evening."
Chris Wamer will be taking the long way to Newark, New Jersey.
"I need to get there today, so I'm going to Pittsburgh now," he said.
One group of friends from North Carolina and New Jersey was fresh off a fishing trip in Mexico.
"We're trying to get on any flight we can back to the East Coast," Ryan White said.
Thanks to Irene, White and his friends are riding out their vacation in Houston until they can get back to their families and back to work.
"[I'm] not stoked to get back to work, but we've got a lot of clean up before that happens," White said.
Several airlines canceled flights for Monday. As always, check with your airline for flight status before heading to the airport.
