Funviralpark About 3,900 flights were canceled as of 11:40 a.m. ET on Friday, according to tracking site FlightAware, bringing the total to more than 6,500 in the past two days.
Airports in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo and Seattle were bearing the brunt of the impact, with airlines closing one-third to two-thirds of their operations, according to FlightAware.LaGuardia Airlines of New York was also hit hard, with around 30% of regular flights reduced. Nearby John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark He Liberty International Airport reported cancellation rates of less than 10%, but were still higher than normal rates.
“It’s very disappointing,” Cowen analyst Helene Becker said in an email. “It will be confusing and people will be disappointed. A postponement is better than a cancellation, but there is nothing you can do about the weather.”
READ MORE: Wheat rises as fears rise that extreme freeze will shrink crops
For days, airlines have been aggressively adjusting their schedules and urging passengers to reschedule flights to make the process more orderly. That way, travelers can stay home until their next flight instead of “going to the airport and doing their best,” says Becker.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Friday that severe weather “moving across the Great Lakes into the Northeast will have a significant impact on the nation’s airspace system today.” Stores warned of higher-than-normal amounts in Puerto Rico, Gulf of Mexico destinations, and ski country areas.
Worsening weather has added further stress to airlines, some of which have reported weak December demand in recent weeks. We hope that travel will steadily recover.
Southwest Airlines Co. reported the biggest impact among airlines on Friday, canceling 798 flights, or 19% of flights. Chicago’s Midway Airport is one of the busiest, with about half of all flights reportedly canceled, according to FlightAware.
Alaska Air Group Inc. cut 312 flights, or 40%, from its schedule on Friday as snow and ice hit its Seattle hub.
