More than half of all the flights were canceled or delayed at Tampa International Airport.

TAMPA, Fla. — Airport disruptions from winter weather lingered Monday across the U.S. including at Tampa International Airport.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy told CNBC that the Federal Aviation Administration targets Wednesday as the day flights may return to normal.

By Monday night, TPA saw at least 100 cancellations and 195 delays, which amount to more than half of total flights. It comes one day after U.S. airports saw the highest number of cancellations in a single day since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The traffic and bustle at the airport never stops but on Monday, the journey didn’t take off for thousands of passengers. It stalled. 

“I’m a little bit nervous because tomorrow I’m scheduled to work,” Juffred Colon, a visitor from Boston, said. 

Colon’s flight had been delayed for about six hours. He was among other visitors from snow-heavy areas including Philadelphia whose flights were postponed. 

Meanwhile, other passengers including Jennifer Akese-Burney of Chicago couldn’t find another flight until Tuesday.

“Stress doesn’t make it easier,” Akese-Burney said. “You’ve got to breathe in, breathe out and then just try another day. That’s all we can do.”

10 Tampa Bay Aviation Expert Mark Weinkrantz said it’s difficult to tell how long recovery may take since many cancellations were proactively put in place ahead of the storm. However, operations should improve by Wednesday or Thursday.

With that, Weinkrantz warns some stranded travelers may not be able to fly out by Tuesday. Therefore, it’s best to be on top of flight updates and notifications.

On top of getting pilots and staff back on track, along with accommodating available seats from canceled flights, frequent flyers or high mileage passengers may get priority over other passengers, Weinkrantz said. 

There were at least 5,600 flights within, into or out of the U.S. canceled by Monday night, according to FlightAware. The day before, more than 11,400 cancellations were recorded.

Colder temperatures are slated to hit the Tampa Bay area Monday night into Tuesday morning. Passengers from cities dealing with bitter cold or heavy snow said there are worse places to be stuck in.

“I totally will enjoy it,” Akese-Burney said.