Last update: 7:10 p.m. ET. Next update: Thursday, by 9 a.m. ET
Airlines have canceled more than 1,900 U.S. airline flights during the past 48 hours thanks a major winter storm that's been a nightmare for passengers trying to fly home after the Christmas holiday.
Today (Wednesday), the storm stretched from the Midwest to the East Coast as of late afternoon, its effects extending to nearly two dozen major airports.
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"The biggest problem from this storm is high winds and winds not aligned with (airport) runways," Daniel Baker, CEO of Flight-tracking service FlightAware, says in a statement. "This causes significant capacity constraints that (lead) to long delays and cancellations."
Baker adds "we expect the number of cancellations and delays to rise significantly this evening as the storm hits the NYC area this afternoon and continues with high intensity through the evening. At JFK airport, for example, wind gusts are expected to exceed 50 mph this evening."
As of 7:10 p.m. ET, the tally of flight cancellations for today alone has topped 1,450, according to FlightAware. While not all of those can be attributed to directly the storm, that total comes largely from airports that have felt the storm's effects during the past 48 hours.
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American and its regional American Eagle affiliate account for nearly a quarter of today's cancellations. FlightAware counts 235 cancellations today at American Eagle and 121 at American.
The individual airports suffering the most cancellations as of 7:10 p.m. today are: Dallas/Fort Worth (a combined 267 arrivals and departures canceled); Philadelphia (250); Indianapolis (166) and Chicago O'Hare (157).
Today's flight cancellation numbers won't to be record-setters at any one airport – O'Hare alone had nearly 500 cancellations last Thursday during that pre-Christmas storm. But what makes today's tally so staggering is that the cancellations are spread across so many big airports, spanning an area from New York to Florida to Texas.
Among the other airports with at least 40 cancellations so far today: New York LaGuardia (125); Detroit (93); Charlotte (87); Washington National (80); Cleveland (77); Washington Dulles (76); Newark (69); Pittsburgh (66); Columbus, Ohio (64); Cincinnati (51); Dayton (49); Atlanta (47); New York JFK (47); Buffalo (44); Baltimore/Washington (43); and Akron-Canton (43).
Delays also are cropping up at major airports in the same regions. As of 7 p.m. ET, the Federal Aviation Administration's flight delay map shows delays averaging anywhere from 1 to 4 hours at airports in Philadelphia (wind), Newark (wind), LaGuardia (wind and snow) and JFK (wind). Other problem spots on the FAA map as of the same time: Fort Lauderdale, where runway construction is contributing to delays there.
FlightStat's delay map shows an even more ominous picture, indicating significant almost every big airport east of the Mississippi.
AIRLINE WEATHER WAIVERS: Air Canada | AirTran | American | Delta | Porter | Southwest | United | US Airways
Today's cancellations come on top of the more than 530 flights that were reported on the typically slow Christmas travel day. Most of those cancellations came at Dallas/Fort Worth, where yesterday's disruptions have spilled over into today's operations.
Also, as is now a common occurrence during major weather events, most big airlines have enacted flexible rebooking policies for customers scheduled to fly to or through the storm's path.
Blizzard warnings covered areas surrounding the Cleveland and Indianapolis airports, while windy wintry weather are to be blamed for delays problems across much of the Midwest.
PHOTO GALLERY: Blizzard 2012 (The Indianapolis Star)
In Indianapolis, airport spokesman Carlo Bertolini tells USA TODAY's Bart Jansen more that runways are "in good shape," with those comments coming as the storm began to taper off there around 4 p.m. ET. Now, Bertolini says, airlines will have to sort out how to handle their delayed passengers.
"We had more than half our flights canceled," Bertolini says. "There are still some flights getting out and getting in."
The airport has mats ready -- in case passengers become stranded at the airport -- and asked some restaurants to stay open longer, Bertolini says. But because most Indianapolis passengers start or end their flights, rather than making connections, Bertolini doesn't expect many travelers to be sleeping at the airport tonight.
"No one has requested a mat yet. Later tonight they might," Bertolini says. "We do have them ready and we have a couple of restaurants to extend their hours, in case they're needed. We'll be ready if that's the case."
Chicago O'Hare did not take a direct hit from this storm, but flights are seeing disruptions from windy conditions — and because of disruptions to Chicago-bound flights at other airports.
The storm also is hampering airports all along the East Coast. Wintry precipitation and poor visibility are disrupting the already delay-prone airports in Philadelphia and the New York City area. Strong winds could also create sporadic delays at other big airports in the East — including the world's busiest airport in Atlanta.
The three big airports in the Washington/Baltimore region have suffered more more than 200 cancellations combined, according to FlightAware. In New York, the three big airports combined for nearly 240 combined cancellations.
By this evening, the effects of the storm — notably strong winds — will extend into New England, adding Boston, Hartford and Providence to the list of airports where fliers could run into weather-related problems.
Regardless of final reach of today's storm, this season has already been a trying one for many air travelers. Combined with the cancellations from another storm that snarled flights in the days just before Christmas, nearly 3,500 airline flights have now been canceled since Dec. 20.
Next update: Thursday, by 9 a.m. ET
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Source: http://www.news.theusalinks.com/2012/12/26/flight-cancellations-near-2000-from-newest-holiday-storm/
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