
WASHINGTON, December 26 ------ Airlines canceled more than 3,800 U.S. flights and U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak canceled some train service, disrupting holiday travel for thousands, as a powerful winter storm hit the United States.
The extreme weather coincided with the start of a holiday travel season that could be one of the busiest ever. More than 2,180 U.S. flights had been canceled and another 1,600 flights were scrapped, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration said hat the winter storm was bringing blizzard conditions to the Midwest with major travel disruptions expected in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Delta Air Lines, which had canceled 130 flights out of 4,400 and 84 on per FlightAware, warned “additional cancellations will be necessary as the storm continues to impact operations in Detroit and the Northeast.” So far, 24% of departing flights at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and 37% of flights at Chicago Midway were canceled, while 26% of departing Denver flights had been canceled. Amtrak said it was canceling several dozen scheduled train trips in the Midwest through Christmas because of weather conditions including trains in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri and trains between New York and Chicago.
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 16.2 million passengers, slightly below the 16.5 million screened in the same period in 2019. Last year’s holiday period was marred by an outbreak of COVID-19 among staff that forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights. U.S. airlines, including Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines, said earlier they were waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers in a range of affected areas.
American Airlines said it was continuing to monitor the winter storm, which is expected to affect Midwest, Northeast and East Coast airports, and had canceled 130 flights. Southwest Airlines had canceled 833 flights.
Source: inquirer.net
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