More than 3.400 flights within, into or out of the United States had been canceled as of early afternoon on Monday as a massive weather system disrupted air travel across parts of the country, forcing the Federal Aviation Administration to impose ground stops at some airports while others faced lengthy delays, according to FlightAware and FAA data.
More than 5,400 delays involving U.S. flights were also recorded as of early Monday afternoon, FlightAware data showed.
The disruptions come during the busy spring break travel season — one of the peak periods for airline demand — leaving many travelers scrambling to find alternative flights.
The airports topping the chart with the most cancellations based on origin airport included Chicago O’Hare, LaGuardia, and Charlotte/Douglas, according to FlightAware. The three hubs also topped the cancellation chart based on destination airports as well.
2K FLIGHTS CANCELED IN SINGLE DAY, TURNING MAJOR AIRPORT INTO VIRTUAL GHOST TOWN
Some of the other major U.S. hubs reporting cancellations included Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Orlando International Airport, indicating the severe weather was disrupting flights across multiple regions of the country.
Major airlines were also heavily affected. American Airlines had more than 500 cancellations, followed by Southwest Airlines with more than 400, Delta Air Lines with more than 400, as well as many others.
The travel disruptions come as a powerful March storm system sweeps across the United States, bringing blizzard conditions to parts of the Midwest and a rare severe storm threat along the East Coast.
The Federal Aviation Administration was already implementing traffic management restrictions early Monday as the system moved across the country. The FAA’s National Airspace System status page showed a ground stop at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport due to thunderstorms and another at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, though it appears that the Atlanta airport ground stop later ended, as it was no longer listed as of early Monday afternoon.
The FAA page indicated that the Charlotte Douglas and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport had ground stops in place as of early afternoon on Monday.
Departures to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport were experiencing ground delays averaging 148 minutes because of high winds. Other airports also had ground delays listed.
The FAA had also warned that additional ground stop and delay programs could be implemented Monday at major hubs including Chicago O’Hare, New York’s JFK and Boston Logan as the storm system intensifies, and by early Monday afternoon, a ground delay was listed for JFK. “Departures to John F Kennedy International are delayed avg. 194 mins. due to low ceilings,” the FAA noted.
The FOX Forecast Center warned that the East Coast faces a Level 4 out of 5 severe weather risk, with damaging winds of 70 to 80 mph and several tornadoes possible from the Mid-Atlantic into parts of the Carolinas later Monday.
Meanwhile, parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes are digging out from historic snowfall totals, including Green Bay, Wisconsin, which recorded 14.8 inches in its snowiest day in 137 years, according to FOX Weather. Spalding, Michigan, also recorded 26 inches of snow, FOX Weather reported.
FOX Weather reported that more than 6,500 flights have already been canceled nationwide through Tuesday as the sprawling storm system continues to disrupt travel across multiple regions.
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Ground stops were also anticipated at major hubs later Monday as severe storms approached the Atlantic coast, according to FOX Weather.
The headache came as long lines were seen again at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday, stretching outside the airport entrance.
The airport shared a video early Monday showing a line for general security wrapped around the building.
“We’re expecting a record-breaking volume of people — there are about 38k of you flying out today,” the airport wrote on X. “Please arrive at least 2.5 hours prior to your flight’s departure for domestic.”
But later on Monday the airport noted in another post, “The morning rush is over! We’re expecting normal lines for the rest of the day & if anything changes, we’ll be sure to share here. For tomorrow, about 32,000 people will fly out, which isn’t record-breaking busy but that’s busier-than-normal for a Tuesday.”
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