Powerful winter storm grounds more than 2,000 flights; causes long delays

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

A violent winter storm bringing a mix of snow, sleet and heavy rain from the Midwest to the East Coast grounded more than 2,000 flights and created hours long delays at some of the busiest airports in the Northeast on Tuesday.

According to flight-tracking site FlightAware, the La Guardia Airport of New York was the most affected with 500 flights scheduled to fly in and out of the airport called off, or about 40 percent of the day’s schedule.

More than 800 flights were cancelled at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The weather delayed flights at Newark Liberty International Airport and at Boston Logan International Airport by more than three hours and a ground stop was put in place for J.F.K., a measure that would prevent flights from departing for the New York airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

American Airlines said it would waive fees to change dates tickets to or from 32 airports across the Northeast and in southern Canada if customers can fly a different date through Saturday. , United Airlines and JetBlue Airways issued similar waivers. Southwest Airlines doesn’t charge fees for changing travel dates but said it would waive fare-difference charges for travelers affected by the storm.

Delta Airlines is also offering travel waivers for its passengers in the Upper Midwest, including Grand Rapids, due to the latest winter storm. The company announced the waivers Tuesday morning. Earlier this week, Delta Airlines issued waivers for travelers to the Northeast, including New York and Philadelphia.

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