PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Hurricane Irene is pounding the East Coast. While the rain will not make its way to western Pennsylvania, the effects of the storm are already being felt.

At Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday, some travelers were taking a light-hearted approach to Irene.

For others, it is not a laughing matter.

More than 8,000 flights have been canceled because of the hurricane.

“Nobody can guarantee anything right now,” Linda Cunningham said.

Linda and Dave Cunningham are taking a European vacation with a connecting flight in Philadelphia.

With their euros in hand, they know it might be a couple of days before they can spend any of it.

“We’re supposed to land in Brussels tomorrow morning at 7:35. So we may still be in Philadelphia instead of in Brussels,” Linda Cunningham said.

Hilario Segaria, 18, from Bronx, N.Y. begins school at Allegheny College next week. He was able to catch his flight from JFK to Pittsburgh, but unfortunately the airport wouldn’t allow him to check any of his luggage.

“It’s just crazy that this is the day that I have to be at school and this hurricane comes along and messes everything up,” Segaria said.

Between canceled flights and the risk of being stuck in an airport overnight, a lot of the rental car agencies are making reservations for one-way destinations along the East Coast.

For others like Jim Johnson, a chair at the Greyhound Station in downtown Pittsburgh is the only destination he’ll reach until further notice.

“They told me it might be tomorrow, it might be Monday,” Johnson said.

At least seven buses were canceled to East Coast destinations Saturday with the possibility of many more in the coming days.

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