Airlines Cancel Over 1,400 U.S. Flights as Major Winter Storm Heads East
Skift Take
Key Points
- Over 1,400 U.S. flights were canceled as a major winter storm moved east.
- Airlines like Southwest and American issued waivers and rebooking options for affected passengers.
- The Skift Travel 200 index reflects the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies, including airlines.
Summary
A major winter storm, Storm Blair, led to the cancellation of over 1,400 flights in the U.S., affecting airports primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Airlines such as Southwest and American Airlines issued waivers and rebooking options to assist passengers facing disruptions. Meanwhile, the Skift Travel 200 index provides insights into the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies, tracking the sector's overall health.
Airlines canceled over 1,400 flights in the U.S. on Monday as a winter storm brought a mix of sleet and snow to the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest.
As of Monday morning, there were 1,463 flights canceled and 1,026 delays in the U.S., according to flight tracking website FlightAware. More than half of the flights out of Washington Reagan National Airport were canceled, the most in the U.S.
Southwest Airlines tallied the greatest number of cancellations as of Monday morning at 362 flights. American Airlines had the second highest number of cancellations with 176 flights.
Airlines Issue Waivers
Storm Blair moved east from the Midwest Monday morning, after hitting Kansas and Missouri particularly hard. The National Weather Service reported that Kansas City International Airport received 11 inches of snow, the fourth-largest single-day snowfall record in the city’s history. The airport had 51 canceled flights as of Monday morning — 34% of the total departures scheduled for the day.
Now, the storm is expected to impact West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Delaware. The Weather Prediction Center is expecting up to 12 inches of snow to hit the Mid-Atlantic and Washington metro area on Monday.
Airlines have started issuing flight waivers to passengers affected by the storm.
Dulles International Airport, which tallied 92 cancellations, is a major hub for United Airlines. In a statement to Skift, the carrier said its operations team was monitoring the weather in the central U.S. and Mid-Atlantic. It is also offering waivers to customers impacted by the storm.
Southwest Airlines told Skift it was giving customers the option to rebook their flights or travel standby within 14 days of their original travel date. Baltimore Washington International Airport, which had 109 canceled flights, is one of Southwest’s busiest airports. The airline added that it was preemptively managing its schedule to match the reduced capacity at impacted airports.
Delta Air Lines said it was issuing travel waivers for certain cities in the Central U.S. and is giving customers the option to rebook their flights in the event they are significantly delayed.
American Airlines, which has a hub at Washington Reagan, said it was continuing to monitor the storm and allowing customers to rebook flights with no change fees. The carrier is anticipating that it will restart operations in Washington Reagan this afternoon.
Airlines Sector Stock Index Performance Year-to-Date
What am I looking at? The performance of airline sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including network carriers, low-cost carriers, and other related companies.
The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more airlines sector financial performance.
Photo Credit: Over half the flights out of Washington Reagan National Airport were canceled on Monday due to a winter storm. Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines / Southwest Airlines
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