Flight cancellations top 5,900 Friday, disrupting holiday travel – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
(CNN) – Winter weather continued to disrupt holiday travel across the United States on Friday, leaving travelers facing delays and cancellations during one of the busiest times of the year.
As of Friday, 5,934 flights had been canceled after nearly 2,700 cancellations on Thursday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
Cancellations were highest Friday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, New York’s LaGuardia, Chicago O’Hare, Denver International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Airport, according to FlightAware data. . In Canada, Toronto leads the way in flight cancellations.
In addition to the cancellations, there are 10,949 flight delays still underway.
For Saturday, more than 1,500 flights have been canceled by 7 am But for Christmas Day, only 45 flights have been canceled so far.
Battered by windswept snow, New York’s Buffalo Niagara International Airport had to completely shut down flights on Friday.
“Buffalo Airport Airfield has closed due to hazardous weather conditions,” and all flights scheduled for the evening have been canceled, according to a tweet from the airport’s official Twitter account.
At airports in Cleveland and Grand Rapids, Michigan, more than 70% of flights were canceled.
The earth stopped
The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops Friday morning for flights to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, American Airlines’ second-largest hub, and Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC , due to defrosting.
In the Pacific Northwest, FAA advisories showed that flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Portland International Airport were also subject to ground stops Friday morning due to snow and ice.
The FAA says major changes in atmospheric pressure associated with this storm will trigger strong winds at airports from Boston to Atlanta.
Chicago and Denver airports saw the most cancellations and delays Thursday. Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Thursday recorded average delays of nearly three hours due to snow and ice.
The storm has bad weather
An arctic outburst and rapidly intensifying winter storm comes at an unfortunate time for travelers trying to join family and friends for the holidays.
Airlines have issued winter weather waivers that allow passengers to book free of charge for a limited time frame. Find links to airline waivers and other airline strategies here.
Growing cancellations make it difficult for passengers racing against time and weather to book and arrive in time for Christmas. This year, flights are busier than ever, even before the typhoon disrupted travel schedules.
“We hear that the amount of travel is still down, by 5 or 10%, but what a lot of people may not realize is that the number of flights in the sky has actually gone down. down by 15 or 20 percent, ” said Scott Keyes of Scott’s Cheap Flights. told CNN.
“The planes that are actually flying are more full now than they were before the pandemic. That’s why there aren’t many empty seats to fall into if you find out your flight is canceled or delayed,” Keyes said.
Train and bus services are also affected
Amtrak was also forced to delay or cancel passenger service for some routes in the Midwest and Northeast.
Click here for more details on train service delays.
In its notice, Amtrak said that “customers with reservations on trains that are being changed will generally be accommodated on trains with a similar departure time or on a later date.
“Amtrak will waive the additional fee for customers who wish to change their reservation during the revised schedule by calling our reservations center at 1-800-USA-RAIL.”
Meanwhile, Greyhound, the largest provider of intercity bus services, issued a service alert late Thursday saying trips in the Midwest or Northeast may be canceled or halted.
In the alert posted here, the company listed nearly 20 cities among those affected. He advised passengers to check bustracker.greyhound.com for the latest information on specific routes.
Greyhound said riders can call 1-833-233-8507 to reschedule.
Winter weather also affects services from regional intercity bus company Jefferson Lines, which operates in 14 states.
In an alert posted on its website, the company said nearly 30 routes were canceled on Friday, with several cancellations listed for Saturday and Sunday. Cities affected by the cancellations include Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Duluth and Kansas City.
Affected travelers can check the Bus Tracker or call 1-858-800-8898.
A traveler’s story
Shane Phillips told CNN he was about to fly from Los Angeles to Seattle to visit family, but when he woke up Friday morning his Alaska Airlines flight had been canceled.
This would be the first time Phillips has been back to Washington state since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I will say that they (his family) are upset, but they are going through crazy times, so they understand,” he said.
Phillips said she mostly feels disappointed but not that surprised. “I know the weather is bad, but I hope to get there before the freezing rain comes,” he added.
Phillips’ family lives about two hours north of Seattle, so if he had made it to the airport, he said he could have been stranded. “They completely shut down transit, so I don’t know how to get out of the airport,” Phillips said.
Other airlines have flights available for Saturday, but Phillips said they are priced at $1,000 one way, “which is too much.”
Phillips said she would do anything – because she plans to attend a friend’s holiday party that she would have missed if she had traveled to Seattle.
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