A Bermudian described yesterday being caught in a travel nightmare in New York caused by a massive winter storm.

But despite days of delays, Sarah Fellows said she felt the ordeal had been a positive learning experience for her 12-year-old son.

Ms Fellows, an employee at The Royal Gazette, said: “I was thinking at least he is experiencing this with me because he travels a lot.

“I would have hated for him to have gone through by himself.”

The pair flew to John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday afternoon.

Ms Fellows’s son was due to catch a flight to Madrid, Spain, the next morning.

She planned to travel back to Bermuda on Sunday after putting her son on the Air Europa flight.

However, the impact of the winter storm became clear when the pair arrived in the baggage hall and hundreds of suitcases and bags lined the floor.

Ms Fellows added: “There were a lot of really distraught people.”

The pair waited in the baggage hall with other passengers from their Delta Air Lines flight.

Ms Fellows said: “We sort of connected because you recognise people on the plane.

“We spent the next 6½ hours waiting for the luggage to arrive.”

Ms Fellows said she knew she would not be heading back to Bermuda on Sunday after her son’s flight was cancelled.

She explained: “I needed to stay in New York with my son.”

Passengers set to travel on the cancelled Air Europa flight were bused to a hotel on Long Island for the night.

Ms Fellows said: “We got there at around 4am.”

The pair headed back to the airport early on Monday morning for the flight her son had been rebooked on by the airline.

The new flight also proved problematic, as it meant her son would have to stay overnight in Madrid without a chaperon.

A burst water pipe in Terminal 4 on Monday afternoon which forced an evacuation and a power outage added to the chaos at the airport, she said.

Ms Fellows said her son was finally able to fly out on Monday night at 10pm.

She ultimately arrived back home in Bermuda yesterday afternoon following additional delays.

Ms Fellows explained: “I spent a couple of hours on the tarmac because of an indicator that wasn’t working.

“I can’t imagine what other Bermudians have gone through.”