Allegiant Flight to Vegas Turns into Three Day Odyssey for Hector Airport Travelers

Folks bound for Vegas are usually good with playing the numbers.

But Doug Morrison, of Detroit Lakes, learned the hard way what wasted time can cost.

“She lives in St. Cloud, we’re weekend warriors,” Morrison,  of his wife of a year and a half, Shirley. They’ve been staying at a Fargo-area hotel waiting to board the postponed flight. “We get a whole week, and it’s in the Fargo airport. So romantic!” he laughs.

The Morrisons are one of many couples stranded here two nights out of town.

Judy and Russ Johnson are waiting to celebrate a 45th wedding anniversary that’s slowly ticking by.

“Reserved it for Valentine’s Day, kind of,” Russ Johnson said. “A convertible to go to Lake Havasu.” That’s since been canceled, with an added fee tacked on for “renting” the car a day later than reserved, Johnson said.

Now that a two–hour flight has become a three day wait for these travelers, the investment just isn’t adding up.

“This is time lost in your life,” said Doug Morrison. “The only thing they want to give us is a hundred–dollar voucher,” said Paul Malikowski, who’s also been stranded far from his Detroit Lakes home.

The Morrisons aren’t strangers to waiting. This honeymoon isn’t just three days overdue — it’s three days and 30 years.

They dated in high school, but went on to marry other people. When Doug became a widower and Shirley’s first marriage ended in divorce, they ultimately found their way back to each other.

As they boarded their long-awaited plane, the couple offered some words of wisdom for all stranded travelers: it’s not the destination, it’s the journey — and the one you share it with. 

“As long as I’m with her, it don’t matter,” said Doug Morrison. “We’re on our honeymoon anyway.”