Funviralpark An estimated 113 million people will travel more than 50 miles between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, according to AAA. (Photo: David Ryder)
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This story was last updated at 10:30 am on Thursday, December 22nd.
debtLie on Christmas? Please check if your flight is still scheduled. A massive winter storm like the Grinch, dubbed a “once-in-a-generation event” by the National Weather Service, threatens to make travel impossible on the busiest travel day of the year.
According to travel app Hopper, Thursday and Friday are the busiest travel days of the season, with more than 3 million travelers expected to depart U.S. airports each day.
As of 10:30 a.m., more than 1,500 flights were canceled on Thursday, and another 760 on Friday, according to data from FlightAware, an app that provides real-time, historical, and predictive flight tracking data. Cancellations are virtually guaranteed to climb in the coming days.
A total of 329 flights were canceled from Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports on Thursday, and a further 163 were canceled from Denver International Airport. Numerous airports across the country have seen his double-digit cancellations, including Kansas City, Des Moines, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Boston, Baltimore, Nashville, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix, Washington DC’s Reagan National and Las Vegas airports. . Harry Reid, New York’s LaGuardia, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, Dallas Love Field, Austin Bergstrom.
Southwest Airlines canceled 580 flights on Thursday. This is the highest number among major U.S. airlines. By comparison, United canceled 110 flights, followed by Delta with his 96 and American with his 84.
A powerful Arctic cold front is moving southward across the southern plains today and moving east tonight, forecasting perilous conditions from sea to glistening seas. The National Weather Service said “heavy snow, high winds, and dangerously low temperatures are expected to affect the northern Great Basin to the Plains, Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and northern/central Appalachians.”
The Midwest and Central Plains will bear the brunt of this storm, with heavy snowfall and high winds causing “near-zero visibility” and blowing significant amounts of snow. It will lead to more land and air travel.”
Major airlines have issued travel waivers to allow passengers traveling to and from affected airports to rebook without paying the fare difference. For consumers looking to change travel plans or recoup travel expenses, a lot depends on the airline, the itinerary and, in some cases, the availability of travel insurance. The original ticket must be purchased by a specific date and rebooked within a specific time period.
Different airlines have different parameters. For example, United Airlines offers four weather reports covering a total of 142 airports. There are 51 airports in the Central Northwest, 49 in the East, 28 in the Midwest and 14 in Texas.
American Airlines has issued several winter travel alerts affecting 88 airports nationwide.
Delta Air Lines issues four regional weather advisories for a total of 64 airports: Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Northeast and Mountain West.
Southwest’s winter travel advisory covers 50 airports, and JetBlue’s winter travel warning covers 16 airports in the East and 4 airports in the Midwest.
For travelers who decide to rebook a flight, the golden rule is to book the flight as early as possible on the date of travel. Because the airline reuses planes and crew throughout his day, flights scheduled to depart at midnight are susceptible to delays. Therefore, if one flight is canceled or delayed, there will be a chain reaction for other flights that rely on the same resource. The domino pattern spikes during holiday periods simply because more flights depart from the airport.
