Flight Cancellations Pile Up Amid Winter Storm in Northeast

Another round of winter weather is impacting travel heavily in the Northeast, including in New York and Boston.

According to the latest from the National Weather Service (NWS), snow will continue to fall in the New York City metro area, including Long Island and northeast New Jersey, through the morning, with 8 inches of snow likely in those areas, and “worst case of 9 to 11” into mid to late afternoon.

In Boston, which is under a winter weather advisory until 7 p.m. EST, the NWS is expecting total snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches and wind gusts as high as 35 mph through Tuesday.

Because of that, travelers in those areas are dealing with headaches on Tuesday morning, as cancellations and delays pile up through the early hours. As of 7 a.m., here are the airports with the most cancellations, according to FlightAware:

• LaGuardia (LGA): 218 departures canceled, along with 184 arrivals, amounting to around 40% of its entire schedule.
• Boston Logan (BOS): 118 departures and 103 arrivals, about a quarter of its full schedule.
• Newark Liberty (EWR): 112 departures and 84 arrivals, close to 20% of its schedule.
• John F. Kennedy International (JFK): 99 departures and 71 arrivals, more than 15% of its schedule.

There are also growing cancellations at Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Reagan National (DCA), though those numbers aren’t as significant as LaGuardia, Boston Logan, Newark, or John F. Kennedy International.

All the hubs most impacted by the weather are telling travelers to check with their airline before heading to the airport.

“Passengers are advised to check with their airline on the status of their flight before coming to the airport and to allow extra time to travel to and from the airport,” Boston Logan Airport wrote in a message on social media on Monday night.

Airline waivers
Airlines began issuing waivers ahead of Tuesday morning, and several have extended them as the forecast became clearer on Monday.

Delta’s waiver, which includes Boston Logan along with Burlington (BTV), Harrisburg (MDT), New York JFK (JFK), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Newark (EWR), and more, now includes flights through Wednesday, Feb. 14. None of American, JetBlue, Southwest, or United have extended their waivers into Thursday as of yet.

Air Canada has issued its waiver for travel through most airports in the Northeast U.S., along with St. John’s, Newfoundland (YYT), Saint John, New Brunswick (YSJ), Halifax (YHZ), and more.

WestJet has its waiver for travel to or from Halifax for travel through Feb. 14.