Jan 26 (Reuters) – A powerful winter storm sweeping across much of the United States forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights and delay hundreds on Monday, as freezing rain and heavy snowfall disrupted travel and snarled transportation networks.
About 3,800 flights were canceled, and more than 1,000 were delayed as of early Monday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, following more than 11,000 cancellations reported on Sunday.
The number of cancellations and delays was expected to rise as the day progressed.
Low pressure south of New England is expected to move east over the Atlantic on Monday, bringing heavy snow to parts of the Northeast and freezing rain across sections of the Mid-Atlantic, the U.S. National Weather Service said.
Snow is also expected along the Appalachian region, while rain will spread along the Southeast coast as a cold front moves offshore, the agency said.
American Airlines accounted for the largest share of disruptions on Monday, with more than 600 flights canceled and about 135 delayed, followed by Republic Airways, JetBlue Airways, and Delta Air Lines.
Shares of American Airlines, Delta Air, and United Airlines fell nearly 1% each in premarket trading.
The disruptions also left thousands of travel plans in limbo. Passengers inundated carriers on social media platforms such as X seeking clarity on flight schedules.
MORE DISRUPTION LIKELY
The Federal Aviation Administration said in an advisory that weather-related constraints, including snow, freezing rain and low visibility, were affecting major hubs such as Boston and the New York-area airspace.
The agency said ground stops and delay programs could be imposed through the afternoon at airports including LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International, Philadelphia International, Newark Liberty International and Washington Dulles International if conditions worsen.
Major American carriers rolled out sweeping travel waivers and flexible re-booking options to assist passengers whose travel plans were disrupted by the cancellations.
Airline operations are highly interconnected, meaning cancellations can leave aircraft and crews out of position, complicating efforts to restore normal flight schedules.
International operations were also affected by the extreme weather. Dutch carrier KLM said some of its U.S.-bound flights were disrupted over the weekend, but added that all services to the country were expected to operate normally on Monday.
ROADS BATTERED, THOUSANDS WITHOUT POWER
The storm also impeded road travel. The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that driving conditions could become dangerous as blizzard-like conditions, strong winds, and ice spread further.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of customers across several states, from Tennessee to the Carolinas, reported power outages, with Tennessee reporting the most cases.
More than 820,000 customers were without electricity as of early hours on Monday, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Joanna Plucinska in London; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
