Severe weather continues to disrupt society across the United States into the weekend. Approximately 64 million residents in the country are now under winter weather alerts. As a result of the conditions, airline services are being affected.
Interstate disruption
The Southern States, the Midwest, and the East Coast are three regions that are being notably hit by bad weather. Travelers both in the air and on the ground would have been facing significantly difficult hurdles this week, with scenes of drivers battling near white-out conditions, and ice causing several to skid and crash. Minnesota’s Cedar River has even frozen over. Moreover, wind chills in New England could reach as low as -40 this weekend.
Overall, NBC News reports that weather alerts are in place in 26 US states. Due to the tough situation, numerous carriers across the United States have issued travel warnings.
Waivers issued
One airline that has emphasized how the weather is impacting air travel is American Airlines. The company also mentioned that services in parts of Canada could be affected.
“Winter weather throughout portions of the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast United States and Canada may impact American Airlines operations. In preparation for this weather, American has issued a travel alert for airports in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia, as well as parts of Canada. The travel alert allows customers whose travel plans may be impacted by this inclement weather to rebook without change fees.” – American Airlines via statement.
Southwest Airlines added that its scheduled flights to several destinations are being impacted. The Texan outfit highlighted that passengers with reservations on services related to the below locations between January 15th and January 16th can rebook within 14 days of their original travel.
- Atlanta, GA (ATL)
- Birmingham, AL (BHM)
- Charlotte, NC (CLT)
- Greenville/Spartanburg, SC (GSP)
- Jackson, MS (JAN)
- Little Rock, AR (LIT)
- Memphis, TN (MEM)
- Nashville, TN (BNA)
- Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU)
- Des Moines, IA (DSM)
- Kansas City, MO (MCI)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP)
- Omaha, NE (OMA)
- St. Louis, MO (STL)
- Albany, NY (ALB)
- Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI)
- Boston (Logan), MA (BOS)
- Buffalo/Niagara, NY (BUF)
- Hartford, CT (BDL)
- Long Island/Islip, NY (ISP)
- Manchester, NH (MHT)
- New York-LaGuardia, NY (LGA)
- Philadelphia, PA (PHL)
- Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
- Portland, ME (PWM)
- Providence, RI (PVD)
- Richmond, VA (RIC)
- Rochester, NY (ROC)
- Syracuse, NY (SYR)
- Washington-Dulles, VA (IAD)
- Washington-Reagan National, DC (DCA)
Altogether, many major operators that serve the affected regions are issuing waivers. To find out more about the terms, it’s advised to contact your airline.
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A troubling period
It’s been a hard few weeks for US-based airlines when it comes to severe weather. Along with the winter storms, carriers are having to deal with the impact that Omicron is having on operations. This weekend’s alerts are a near repeat of this time last week when an East Coast snowstorm caused thousands of flight cancellations, including over 2,500 cuts on Friday, 7th January.
The weekend before that was also full of disruptions, with over 2,300 cancellations reported on Sunday, 2nd January due to weather and coronavirus issues. Airlines across North America will be longing for the spring to arrive as the harsh weather will likely continue in the coming weeks.
What are your thoughts about travel in North America being disrupted by harsh weather this weekend? What do you make of the overall challenges? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comment section.
Source: https://simpleflying.com/us-winter-storms-january16/
