US airlines are canceling thousands of domestic flights as the winter storm hits the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and South of the country. Over 2,700 flights were canceled by airlines yesterday and hundreds more have been axed today. The storm cancelations come as airlines are already canceling flights due to crewing shortages as Omicron spreads in the US.
Moving across
As a winter storm hit much of the US eastern seaboard and Midwest over the weekend, airlines have been canceling thousands of flights. The storm has now progressed to the mid-Atlantic, South, and Northeast, disrupting operations at several key airline hubs.
Washington D.C. is seeing several inches of snowfall today, causing airlines to cancel at least 200 flights from Dulles Airport today. Data from RadarBox.com shows flights after 05:00 AM being canceled or delayed due to the storm. While some flights began taking off at 13:30 local time, a huge backlog remains.
The situation became clear when Marine One, the Presidential helicopter, was grounded and unable to fly President Biden to the White House. The snow warning remains in effect until tonight, disrupting flights. Similar reports are coming in from airports in Virginia and Maryland, with Baltimore/Washington International was forced to shut flights for hours earlier.
More cities in the South and across the Eastern seaboard are on snowstorm warnings and can expect several inches of snow today. For now, passengers in these cities will be looking to rebook onto the next available flights, with carriers activating their travel waivers for free changes.
More challenges
Just as airlines were dealing with the storm in the Midwest, which saw hundreds of flights out of Chicago canceled this weekend, there is no rest in sight. The storm will hopefully settle in the coming day or two, allowing operations to return to normal. However, cancelations are far from gone.
Since Christmas weekend, US airlines have been routinely canceling nearly 2,000 daily flights due to crew shortages. With daily cases reaching record levels, thousands of staffers are currently in isolation, leaving flights unable to operate. The last 10 days have been tens of thousands of services nixed, and this is likely to continue for now.
One big boost for airlines has been the CDC’s decision to reduce isolation for vaccinated people from 10 days to just five. Now, any positive case who has spent five days in isolation and is asymptomatic can exit quarantine if they wear a mask for five more days. Given that crews have to wear a mask while flying, this enables them to return to work early.
Stay prepared
If you are affected by the slate of cancelations, be it due to inclement weather or crewing issues, be sure to check your options. Airlines will certainly provide you with an alternate flight and possibly even compensation depending on the delays. Be sure to check with your airline as soon as you know of your flight’s status.
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