Winter storm leaves thousands of U.S. flights canceled and delayed

Air travel was slowly beginning to recover on Monday, though thousands of flights across dozens of airports remained canceled and delayed after a winter storm brought heavy snow and ice to much of the Eastern United States. Airports in the Northeast were hit the hardest. About 4,000 departing and arriving flights to the United States were canceled and over 2,000 were delayed as of 10 a.m., according to FlightAware.

Most major airlines were offering travel waivers and rebooking options for customers affected by the storm. Because they had days to prepare, many carriers canceled flights and moved planes and workers to be ready to restart normal operations, and the end of January is among the slowest periods for air travel, giving airlines more flexibility.

The transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said on Monday that he hoped flights would return to normal by midweek. “We’re looking at Wednesday as our hope to get back to a normal schedule,” he said in an interview on CNBC, adding, “The snow is subsiding in the northeast, so now it’s dig-out day.” He also said Sunday was the worst day for flight cancellations since the early days of the pandemic, and officials warned that lingering ice and frigid temperatures could slow the recovery.

Over the weekend, airports in Atlanta, Dallas and Charlotte saw the largest numbers of cancellations for departing flights.

Key Topics

Business, American Airlines, Winter Storm, Flightaware, Sean Duffy, Laguardia Airport