TAMPA, Fla. — According to the flight tracking web site Flight Aware, more than 9,000 flights across the U.S. were delayed or canceled Friday as winter weather impacted parts of the country.

At Tampa International Airport, passengers faced 260 delays and 38 cancellations as of 9 p.m. out of a total 632 flights. 

What You Need To Know

 Friday was expected to be Tampa International Airport’s busiest day of the holiday travel season

 The airport expected nearly 82,000 people to fly through on Dec. 26

 Winter weather snarled travel nationwide, with Flight Aware showing a total of more than 9,000 delays and cancellations

TPA was also impacted, with more than 250 delays and dozens of cancellations

Among the passengers spending more time at the airport than expected was the Jones family from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were trying to get back home after their annual holiday cruise.

“The bad part about it — we got off the cruise at 8 (a.m.) this morning,” Danielle Jones said. “So, we already had to wait until 7 (p.m.) to fly, and now we’ve got to wait until 9-something and don’t get home until after midnight.”

The Joneses were making the best of it. Several family members performed a dance near what will be the shuttle to the new Airside D.

Mya King said she teaches line dancing and her family is always up to learning new routines.

“They are, always — I grew up line dancing,” King said. “I got it from them.”

“We’re the Jones family. We just dance everywhere, just try to keep everything positive,” said 22-year-old Jamari Tolbert.

Raymon Jones, Sr., said the family spent the day at a nearby mall and the movies before heading to the airport.

“It’s just tiring to see a delay, but we’ve gotta make something out of it, you feel me? We’re always hanging with family, kicking it,” said Tolbert.

That’s what many passengers were doing in the days before they wound up at the airport. Friday was expected to be TPA’s busiest day of the holiday season, with nearly 82,000 passengers flying through. The airport’s communications manager, Beau Zimmer, said the holidays are always an all-hands-on-deck situation — from restaurants to shops to the guest experience team.

“They’re handling it good,” 19-year-old Rayzier Jones said. “They’re doing the best they can.”

“It’s the holidays,” said Rayanuna Jones, 20. “They’re here working and stuff, and they’ve still got a smile on their face.” 

As for the Joneses, they said it’s all about perspective.

“Just giving us more time to spend with each other,” said Danielle Jones.

“Yeah, that’s it,” agreed Raymon Jones, Sr. “Family is everything for us, you know? The good and the bad. Everything’s not always great, but you work through it and you just have fun, like the kids said.”

“Delayed, but never denied,” said Rayanuna. “We’re going to get there.”

TPA recommends passengers check directly with their airline about their flight status before heading to the airport. Zimmer suggested passengers arrive two hours ahead of any domestic flights and three hours early if they’re flying internationally.