GLENDALE, Ariz. — A group of Valley students from Trivium Prep Academy in Goodyear is feeling the effects of all the recent flight delays and cancellations.
They were supposed to board an American Airlines flight in North Carolina and arrive back in Arizona on Saturday but those plans quickly changed.
The teacher who's been piloting the journey on the ground, Angelique Heppner, is doing everything she can to ensure these students get home safely.
"We're scared that if flights keep getting canceled we're not going to be able to get these kids home to their families," she said.
The students were headed back from the annual Future Farmers of America convention in Indianapolis. Heppner was hoping to get her students home in time for the start of the week, but 72 hours later they're still unable to get a flight.
"We had a flight from Indy to Charlotte then Charlotte to Phoenix. I need a place for them to stay, I need to feed them and the customer service manager said 'ma'am I can give you one voucher because they're all minors,'" Heppner said.
Ultimately, Heppner and Agriculture Teacher Tammy Zimmerman rented a separate van and met the group in Charlotte decided to tackle the problem themselves.
They've already hit several states on their trek, making stops in Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama, turning the hurdles they've been facing into history lessons.
"One of our students looked up that we were only eight minutes away from Birmingham Jail where MLK was put in jail. We had to go, they've studied 'Letters from the Birmingham Jail' by MLK Jr.," she said.
Heppner also said that, while the frustrations have been high, it takes a village to care for students and she's grateful for the generosity of parents and the school for all the help.
"We had a cousin of a family from Arizona that hosted us for Halloween and fed us dinner, we had our parents of our FFA students book us a hotel, this is all on a personal dime right now."
American Airlines addressed the issue in a statement saying, "Our goal is to re-accommodate customers affected by cancellations on alternate flights that get them to their destination as close to their originally scheduled arrival time as possible."
Now, their plan is to drive to Dallas on Tuesday then get on an American Airlines flight to Phoenix Wednesday morning. The entire group is hopeful they get on that flight.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.