Airlines canceled or delayed thousands of flights nationwide on Tuesday as they grappled with freezing temperatures and storms across swathes of the U.S.
As of 4 p.m. EST Tuesday, 2,200 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled while another 6,636 were delayed, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.
Chris Citrola, an air traffic organization watch officer with the Federal Aviation Administration, urged travelers to check in with their airline to confirm their flight statuses before leaving home and to get to airports early. In a video shared Tuesday, he outlined weather conditions impacting flights, including snow and gusty winds in the Northeast and thunderstorms in the South.
“All of these airports may see flight delays due to these weather conditions,” he said. “So, all travelers can expect some delays, cancellations, long lines and overall congested airports today.”
Check your flight status with your airline and plan to arrive at the airport early! Weather is causing delays and cancellations for flights along the Northeast. T-storms may affect Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte airports. Monitor https://t.co/smgdqJN3td. #FAAWeatherSquad pic.twitter.com/3Th0t09oBD
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 16, 2024
Hardest hit was Southwest Airlines, which canceled 440 flights, or 12% of its schedule, and reported 1,043 delays accounting for 28% of its schedule. It issued a pair of winter storm advisories due to conditions affecting flights out of more than a dozen states.
United Airlines saw the second-highest number of cancellations, amounting to 346 flights, or 14% of its schedule. The airline also had 731 flights delayed, or 30% of its schedule, according to FlightAware.
American Airlines canceled 184 flights and had 925 delays while Alaska Airlines canceled 96 flights and delayed 68 more, the flight tracking site showed.
Beginning Saturday, airlines have canceled more than 8,400 flights and seen more than 34,000 delayed flights nationwide, according to figures from FlightAware.
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