Edited by: TJVNews.com
As the nor’easter of January 2022 bore down on the east coast, dumping massive amounts of snow in along with high winds and sub-freezing temperatures in some locations in New England as well as Philadelphia and New York City, airlines across the country have canceled thousands of flights.
Winter storm warnings were in effect Friday through much of Saturday from Maryland to Maine, according to the National Weather Service.
CNBC reported that airline carriers canceled more than 3,500 U.S. flights scheduled for Saturday after more than 1,400 on Friday, according to flight-tracker FlightAware.
Travel disruptions lasted into part of Sunday as well. The CNBC reported indicated that Delta Air Lines said Friday that it planned to suspend operations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport from Saturday through Sunday morning “as airfields and ground transportation infrastructure are expected to be impacted.”
FlightAware reported that Delta cut 461 mainline flights or 19% of its Saturday schedule and on Sunday, FlightAware reported that at JFK Airport in New York, 156 flights were cancelled and 128 were delayed. At LaGuardia Airport, 160 flights were cancelled and 75 were delayed. At Newark Airport, 34 flights were cancelled and 88 were delayed due to the weather.
Also on Sunday, the total number of flight cancellations were 2,858 and the total number of flight delays were 6.914, according to FlightAware.
CNBC reported that New York-based JetBlue Airways, which also has a major operation out of Boston, cut half of its Saturday schedule, or 418 flights.
Regional carrier Republic Airways, which flies for American, United and Delta, canceled 427 flights, 62% of Saturday’s schedule, according to the CNBC report. American canceled 464 mainline flights Saturday, or 18%, while United scrubbed 396, more than a fifth of what it planned to fly, the report indicated.
Airlines in recent years have canceled flights sometimes days ahead of big storms to avoid customers and crews being stranded, according to the CNBC report.
According to the FlightRight web site, if one’s flight is cancelled due to weather related issues, ticket holders are advised to ask the airline to confirm the reason for the delay in order to seek compensation. They also advise passengers to make use of complimentary food and drinks at the airport and to check if other flights at the airport are operating. Passengers can also use the web site’s compensation calculator to check if they have a claim.
CNBC reported that airline carriers said they would waive fare differences for customers affected by the storm. Most airlines had already removed change fees for standard economy tickets in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic repeatedly derailed travelers’ plans.
Airlines cut more than 20,000 U.S. flights between Christmas Eve and the first week of the year, when far more people were traveling, due to a combination of bad weather and a surge in Covid infections among crews, as was reported by CNBC. (Sources: CNBC, FlightAware & FlightRight)
