Across the country, thousands of flights were canceled and delayed as winter weather walloped the Northeast.

Keith Lane-Richardson and his wife Sheila had a long evening ahead of them at Tampa International Airport.

"We've been here about an hour and we've got another six hours to do," said Lane-Richardson.

Weather has delayed their flight home. For Keith, it's Christmas come early: a built-in excuse to kick up his feet and relax.

"I love being at airports. I can endure four or five hours no problem, but my wife was very upset," added Lane-Richardson.

"Airports aren't for me," said Sheila Lane-Richardson.

Massive snow fall across the Northeast, up to two feet in some spots, wreaking havoc from Virginia to New England.

Most of the flights out of Washington, D.C. area airports were canceled altogether, creating a ripple effect at airports around the country. Even in sunny Tampa, more than four dozen flights were either canceled or delayed.

"I'm headed to New York. I live there," said college student Sam. She and fellow student Julia probably had it the worst. Their flights to New York were canceled outright.

With the food wrappers and containers already piling up, both say they plan on spending the night in the airport.

"I have a pillow, so I'm good. We have stuff. We're students, it's how we roll. We're used to sleeping in awkward places," said Julia.

In Philadelphia, delays were averaging six hours. People who had planned on heading South early for Christmas were waiting somewhat patiently.

But with six days to spare until Christmas, frustration seemed to be the worst of it.

"I'm glad it's not like the day before Christmas because then it would be crazy in this airport," added Sam.

For Lane-Richardson, even the thought of waiting longer than six hours wasn't enough to squash his holiday spirit.

"So if they delay us any more we'll just have to hunker down, as they say in the states, and enjoy it," added Lane-Richardson.

Most of the canceled flights heading north out of TIA were rescheduled for Sunday. Runways at Reagan Airport in Washington D.C. won't open again until 6:00 a.m. Sunday.

Officials say it is always a good rule of thumb to call your airline ahead of time.