Though nearly 1,000 flights have been canceled at Chicago airports, O’Hare was relatively quiet early Saturday afternoon, and not too chaotic, according to Kate Paulsen, who was trying to catch a flight to Budapest for some holiday shopping.

With most cancellations scheduled for later in the day, a few travelers still waited inside, unsure of what would happen to their plans.

Paulsen, her mom, and her sister were supposed to land in Budapest on Saturday, but a last-minute American Airlines cancellation threw their plans off course. They’d already lost the first day of their trip, and even after hours of searching for another flight, they were striking out.

“We’re supposed to be visiting the holiday markets there,” said Paulsen, 37, of Iowa. “If we can’t fly out today we’ll have to cance

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