ORLANDO, Fla. – Hundreds of people were packed into an area near the trams as one broke down for a second time in just days. Now airport officials said it could keep happening.
The airport is under a $3 billion construction project and an airport representative explained there will be some bumps in the road while the work is being done.
If the tram does break down again, airport workers are learning to respond quicker. But the same tram broke down just last week and many travelers described the tram trouble from Sunday as a nightmare.
"There were 500 people there waiting to get onto a bus to get to the other terminal. It was crazy!" said Terri Stovall, who was heading back home to Texas after a weekend trip to Orlando with her husband.
The couple had just gotten through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint when they saw a crowd of people packed by the trams.
"People were missing their flights. The crowd was getting angry. It was just nuts," Stovall said.
An airport representative said the incident went smoother than what happened four days ago when the same tram broke down for three hours, affecting up to 7,000 passengers. Some people had to wait for shuttle buses or walk to their gate.
Since then, airport officials met and made changes. On Sunday, they made sure to raise up the volume on the intercom so travelers could hear what was happening more clearly. They also opened the walkway faster. But Stovall said Sunday was chaotic and everyone seemed confused.
"I was thinking, 'I don't want to be the next YouTube video of a trip gone bad,' you know? The one that goes viral these days," Stovall said.
When the tram broke down Wednesday, it was because of a dead battery on a door sensor. The airport representative it's still unclear why the tram broke down again Sunday.
Orlando is the nation's most visited city with 66 million visitors last year.
Around 41 million passengers passed through the airport last year.