Winter Storms: 2,100+ Flight Delays And Cancellations Today
Air travelers are encountering flight delays and cancellations as a major winter storm system is expected to dump snow and ice on a vast swath of the country stretching from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
A major winter storm system covering much of the United States is impacting air travel Wednesday.
National Weather ServiceAs of 10:55 a.m. EST Wednesday, there were 358 flight cancellations and 1,779 delays in and out of U.S. airports, according to FlightAware.
Airports reporting double-digit flight cancellations include Reagan National in Washington, D.C., St. Louis Lambert and LaGuardia in New York City.
Based on historical trends, thousands more flights will be disrupted as the day progresses.
Major U.S. airlines are issuing travel waivers allowing passengers flying in or out of impacted airports to rebook without paying the fare difference, but the number of airports covered varies widely by airline.
Dual winter storms will spread snow from the Central Plains and into far northern New England by the end of Wednesday and into early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. In addition, a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain south of the main snow band will lead to hazardous travel conditions elsewhere in the Midwest and Northeast.
45,000. That’s how many flights the Federal Aviation Administration manages in the United States in an average day. As of early Wednesday morning, roughly 5% of today’s flights were delayed or canceled.
Flight disruptions are expected to mount as the day moves on. Weather events in one region often impact the entire country because airlines reuse planes for multiple flights each day. A plane delayed on one route will run late for other scheduled departures, causing a knock-on effect of disruption into late afternoon.
Winter Storms: Airlines Issue Travel Alerts For Tuesday Through Thursday Travel (Forbes)
