More than 50 flights at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport were affected by smoke. This includes delays, cancellations, and diversions. The airport has seen this happen over the last several weeks. Tuesday may bring more of these issues.

“Five hours and my brother’s not here yet,” said Richard Williams.

The skies aren't so friendly in Reno right now with thick smoke forcing airport delays and cancellations. More than 50 flights at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport were affected by smoke. Representatives with the airport say they've seen this happen over the last several weeks.

As the day wore on, more flights started arriving and leaving without delays. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, it may mean more of what was seen on Monday.

“The schedule says 10:03 originally,” said Richard Williams who has been waiting a long time for his brother's flight to come in. “They flew over Reno and couldn't land. They had to go into Sacramento and refuel. My brother was supposed to be on his way back as they try again,” said Williams. The flight was due at 10 am, but Williams was still waiting at two in the afternoon. and he's not the only one.

Smoke from nearby wildfires makes it hard to even see the control tower, so flights have been affected. “These decisions are made at an airline level and pilot at command level for safety purposes. So it is resulting in some cancellations, delays, and diversions,” said Stacey Sunday from the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority.

Delays seem to be more common than cancellations. "Weather changes here really quickly as you know. Sometimes we do get those peeks of blue sky because the smoke blew out. By delaying the flight, they don't have to cancel that flight perhaps. Maybe you can still get out on a flight," said Sunday.

While pilots and airlines make decisions on if a flight will go out or come in, creative solutions are being deployed to get around delays and cancellations.

Some people are driving to airports not hindered by the smoke. "They arranged another flight out of Sacramento. My nephew leaves around midnight. There's enough time. I'm guessing it’s going to be about 3 hours to get from here to Sacramento,” said Vincenio Parra who had a nephew's flight rescheduled.

“I kind of thought it was going to happen. You know we have a fire South of us and fire North. Whichever way the winds blow we are going to be hammered,” said Williams who says he wasn’t surprised by what happened with the flights. Some people have to wonder if this is a problem, they'll have to deal with again. “My brother has got to go back to Phoenix, we'll see what happens at that time,” said Williams.

Officials are recommending that you check with your airline before you leave for your flight, just in case there is a delay.