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Canceled Flights Leave Travelers Desperate At MIA

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- At Miami international Airport nearly two dozen flights were cancelled Sunday due to stormy weather up north.

Travelers waited in lines to rebook flights, but some didn't have any luck.

"It's just a nightmare," said Tina Farrell.  She and five family members have been trying to get home to London since Saturday.  Initially they were supposed to fly out of Ft.Lauderdale through Chicago, but that flight was cancelled due to the stormy weather. Sunday they ended up at MIA.

"We've been at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International.  We've had our flights changed; we've been told to check into a hotel; we rebooked our flights.  We get here today, we've got boarding passes and since then we've had our boarding passes cancelled," explained Connor Farrell.

"We're just lost in the system," said Tina Farrell tearfully. The family had come to South Florida to celebrate her birthday.

"We've got no chance of getting home for a week," said Connor Farrell, adding, "We've got two doctors who can't go to hospital to do work. We've got people about to lose jobs and there's nothing they can do about it."

The desperation is growing, and the Farrells aren't alone. In addition to the nearly two dozen cancelled flights at MiamiInternationalAirport, more than a hundred flights were delayed Sunday.   According to an airport spokeswoman, most of those delays were not due to weather.  Because of all the delays and cancellations, rebooking flights was no easy task.

"It's just absolutely mad because there isn't anyone to book," said Tina Farrell.

Her son noted the flights that are available are expensive.

"Flights from here if we had to pay separately are three and a half thousand pounds which is five thousand dollars, so you're looking at 30,000 to get home," said Connor Farrell.

The family has already spent more than expected on hotels and telephone calls, trying to find a way back to London.

"We should be home back in the UK by now, and we've tried so hard. We've spent a fortune, hundreds and hundreds of pounds, on the telephone," said Tina. "We just don't know when we're going to get home, we just don't know."

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