Somebody picked a very bad week to fly.
A powerful system dropped blizzard conditions across the Midwest over the weekend before barreling toward the East Coast on Monday. Green Bay, Wisconsin recorded 14.8 inches of snow — its snowiest day in 137 years. Parts of Michigan saw 26 inches. Tornado warnings were issued across Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.
By Monday afternoon, FlightAware tracked more than 3,500 cancellations and nearly 7,000 delays within, into, or out of the U.S. Chicago O'Hare had nearly 500 cancellations. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson and New York's JFK each had more than 300. American Airlines led all carriers with over 500 canceled flights, followed by Southwest with more than 400 and Delta with more than 400.
FOX Weather reported more than 6,500 total cancellations nationwide through Tuesday as the system continues moving east.
The storm landed squarely in the middle of spring break — one of the busiest travel weeks of the year — and overlaps with March Madness, sending basketball fans to arenas across the country. Airlines were already running full schedules before a single flake fell.
One traveler told the AP she was stranded in St. Louis on her way home to Tampa after a Vegas weekend. The only available rebook put her in Tennessee first, arriving home Tuesday afternoon.
The disruptions are unfolding as a partial government shutdown — now in its second month — has left TSA screeners working without pay since February 14. Staffing has thinned at some checkpoints, and security wait times have surged past two hours at major airports even in cities not directly hit by the storm.
Most major airlines have issued travel waivers allowing fee-free rebooking. The storm is expected to clear the East Coast by Wednesday — which is cold comfort if you're sleeping on an airport floor tonight.
