Airlines canceled over 13,000 flights in the United States this weekend due to a significant winter storm that traversed the nation, delivering heavy snowfall, ice, and sleet, succeeded by severe cold.
On Saturday, more than 4,000 flights were called off, as per flight tracker FlightAware. The bulk of Saturday’s cancellations occurred at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, with nearly 1,500 flights canceled, and at Dallas Love Field, which had 190 cancellations, affecting most of the operations at both airports.
American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, canceled 1,056 flights on Saturday, which is over a third of its mainline operations, and Southwest Airlines nixed 579 flights, equating to 20%, as reported by FlightAware.
Flight cancellations in the U.S. more than doubled to approximately 9,100 on Sunday when the storm was anticipated to impact the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. By Saturday afternoon, most flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina to Portland, Maine, had been canceled. Major airline hubs were disrupted as south as Atlanta, home to Delta Air Lines.
At LaGuardia Airport in New York, nearly 90% of Sunday flights were canceled and 96% at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Over 70% of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, which have more international connections, were also canceled for Sunday.
Airlines often proactively cancel flights before a major storm to prevent planes, passengers, and crew from becoming stranded, which could amplify disruptions once the severe weather passes. January is typically a low travel season; however, the widespread storm was poised to disrupt travel for hundreds of thousands for several days.
American, Delta, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and other U.S. airlines announced they will waive change and cancellation fees along with fare differences for customers looking to rebook tickets to and from over 40 airports across the nation. These waivers apply to restrictive basic economy tickets as well.
American stated it is repositioning its aircraft and bolstering staffing at key airports to mitigate the storm’s impact and to “prepare for a rapid, safe recovery once conditions improve.”
The National Weather Service has issued warnings that the winter storm could impact hundreds of millions and is predicted to “bring widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday.”
