A massive winter storm made for a brutal travel day on Monday, triggering widespread flight cancellations and delays at some of the busiest airports in the United States as snow, sleet, and freezing rain swept across large parts of the country.
The storm threatened nearly 180 million people – more than half of the US population – along a corridor stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters warned of dangerous travel conditions as the system intensified after moving eastward from the South.
After battering southern states, the storm pushed into the Northeast on Monday and was expected to dump between 30 and 60 centimetres of snow from Washington, DC through New York City and Boston. The severe weather quickly translated into large-scale disruption across the aviation network.
More than 10,800 flights were cancelled on Sunday alone, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Sunday morning, the storm had produced the highest cancellation levels seen since the pandemic.
By Sunday evening, the majority of flights were cancelled at several major airports in the Northeast and beyond. Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that LaGuardia Airport closed Sunday afternoon, grounding flights until at least 8pm.
Disruptions were especially severe in the Northeast. In Philadelphia, 94 percent of flights – 326 in total – were cancelled. At LaGuardia Airport in New York, 91 percent of flights, or 433 departures, were scrapped. John F. Kennedy International Airport saw 460 cancellations, representing roughly 79 percent of scheduled flights.
Further south, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport said all departing flights for the day had been cancelled, affecting around 420 flights.
Significant disruption also hit major hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, home to the nation’s busiest airport. Airline operations were heavily impacted across the board. American Airlines cancelled more than 1,400 flights on Sunday, about 46 percent of its schedule. Delta Air Lines reported over 1,300 cancellations, while Southwest Airlines cancelled more than 1,260 flights.
United Airlines recorded roughly 900 cancellations, and JetBlue cancelled more than 570 flights, accounting for about 71 percent of its scheduled operations for the day.
With more severe weather expected in parts of the Northeast, airlines and airports warned that delays and cancellations could continue, urging travelers to check flight status and allow extra time as crews worked to restore normal operations.
