Europe's snows frustrate JFK passengers

Angry bosses, worried children, kenneled pets and holiday plans that remain in limbo were just some of the concerns on the minds of frustrated travelers Monday as hundreds camped out in lines at Kennedy Airport hoping for the snow to lift at London's Heathrow Airport.

Dozens of flights into Heathrow have been canceled since the weekend, when snow and ice brought air traffic to a standstill.

Gail Evans-Hay, 43, and her daughter Olivia Hay, 17, were due to fly home to England last night. But when Evans-Hay was unable to check in online Sunday night, she booked the next available flight, which arrives Christmas morning. Monday, she spent hours in a crawling British Airways line that was stretched almost the entire length of their departures floor, hoping she could still snag an earlier flight.

"It's a big problem," she said. "I've got a 14-year-old at home, I've got Christmas things still to do, my car is stuck at Heathrow and I'm supposed to be working tomorrow."

Five agents from British Airways handled the slow-moving line, with workers handing out cookies at midday to passengers slumped across their luggage, cell phones in hand as they talked to loved ones.

One woman was in tears as she called home to her three children, ages 1, 4 and 6. The woman, who declined to give her name, had been visiting New York with her husband for his 40th birthday. After more than two hours in line, it looked like they might not make it back until Christmas.

"It's Christmas, we should be home," said the woman, who was scheduled to fly home Sunday. "This will put us off from flying away from family for a long time."

Felise Shteif, 42, also worried about plans. Her twin sons Arie and Jordan are due to make their bar mitzvahs in Israel on Monday, but after their Sunday night flight to London was canceled, she was told they wouldn't make it out until the 27th. Shteif, of Boca Raton, Fla., waited in line from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. She returned Monday to learn they would be rerouted through Canada Tuesday. The weather problems have cost her hundreds of dollars in canceled hotel and tour reservations, she said. "It ruins a lot of things," she said. "But I'm hopeful now that we'll get there in time."

The scene was not much different at Virgin Atlantic. Workers there had to continually move elastic barriers around snaking lines of passengers as though re-creating a maze.

Tia Beckley, 21, was hoping she could get on a flight to the United Kingdom Monday night, after having her Sunday night flight canceled. She said she's eager to get home since she's supposed to start a new job as a makeup artist Tuesday. "I'm just updating them as I go," she said. "There's nothing else I can do."