If you were planning to fly somewhere to celebrate the holidays this weekend, you might have to make new plans. According to FlightAware (via CNN), there have already been more than 3,900 flight cancellations within, out of, or into the US on Friday.
Flight cancellations are ruining the holiday
To put these numbers into perspective, FlightAware shows that 2,687 flights were canceled on Thursday. By the time I finish writing this article, the number of cancellations on Friday will likely top 4,000, and it’s just after noon on the East Coast.
Currently, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has reported the highest number of cancellations at 224, followed by Chicago O’Hare International at 197 and New York’s LaGuardia at 191. Here is a local news story from Fox 13 Seattle about the cancellations:
CNN notes that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted ground stops on Friday morning for flights heading to Charlotte and Washington, DC, due to deicing. The same was true for flights bound for Seattle and Portland because of snow and ice. The FAA has warned travelers to check flight status with their airlines before they head to the airport.
Anyone who has been tracking the weather in recent days won’t be surprised to see this level of chaos at airports around the country. Several states are experiencing wind chills below zero, with parts of Texas and Georgia dropping into single digits. Millions of homes have lost power, and the road closures are increasing by the hour.
If you want to keep track of the delays and cancellations throughout the day, one of the best tools on the internet is the FlightAware MiseryMap. Needless to say, the level of misery is especially high today as countless Americans are watching the storms dash their holiday plans. It’s little consolation right now, but airlines are issuing winter weather waivers that will allow passengers to rebook their flights for free at a later date.
