Several inbound and outbound flights between San Francisco and Lindbergh Field were either delayed or canceled Saturday following a fatal plane crash at San Francisco International Airport.
According to the San Diego Airport Authority, 13 flights were delayed locally, including eight Southwest Airlines flights, three United Airlines flights and two Virgin America flights.
Four Southwest flights between Lindbergh Field and SFO were cancelled, including a flight from SFO to San Diego scheduled to arrive at 3 p.m. and another scheduled to arrive at 8:15 p.m., according to the San Diego International Airport website. A Southwest flight departing to San Francisco at 6:20 p.m. was also canceled.
On Saturday, just before 11:30 a.m., an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crashed as it was touching down at San Francisco International Airport. The airplane was coming in from Seoul, South Korea, and apparently crashed as it was landing on Runway No. 28 at SFO, NBC News reported.
Two people were killed and dozens of others were injured.
Read more about the plane crash at SFO here
Gene Sullivan, a traveler at the San Diego International Airport, was on a flight to San Francisco when he heard the news of the SFO plane crash.
“We were on the plane ready to go, doors closed, about to back up when they made an announcement that there was an aborted take-off or landing in San Francisco,” Sullivan told NBC 7.
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He said he found out more details about the crash from a woman sitting behind him.
“There was a gal with an iPhone right behind me and she told me the details of the crash, ” Sullivan recalled.
NBC 7 spoke to an Ambassador for Travelers Aid, Malvina Abbott, at San Diego International Airport.
Abbott said she was helping to make alternate arrangements for people traveling to San Francisco.
“Passengers need to be re-routed or find a place to stay tonight. Some people have elected to rent a car and drive,” she said.
Abbot also mentioned travelers did not seem to be too upset over the trouble.
“People have been very calm. A little bit frustrated but we’re glad to help them make other arrangements,” she said.
One Massachusetts man, Steve Weinstein, said he was concerned about the passengers on the plane that crashed.
He was also trying to make arrangements to get to San Francisco by tomorrow morning for a special cycling event.
“We initially rented a car to drive to San Francisco, but now due to the help of someone at the airport, we were able to make flight arrangements to Sacramento, and we’ll hopefully rent a car there and drive to San Francisco,” said Weinstein.
He also mentioned employees at SAN were very helpful.
“The people behind the information booth here were extremely helpful, because we have no idea where these cities are or how we’d get to San Francisco," he said.
SFO officials told NBC News that no flights would be coming in or out of the airport for several hours. NBC Bay Area reported that some flights scheduled to land at SFO on Saturday were being diverted to LAX.
