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Airlines Cancel Hundreds of Flights Due to Incoming Winter Storm Across Northeast

As the northeast prepares for its next major winter storm, airlines are reportedly canceling hundreds of flights across the region. 

According to CNBC, nearly 3,000 U.S. flights were canceled for Saturday after more than 1,000 on Friday. Among the airlines that are making the decision to cancel various flights, New York-based JetBlue has canceled over 300 flights that were originally scheduled for Saturday.

The media outlet reports that at Boston Logan International Airport, airlines canceled more than 530 Saturday flights. This is over 80% of the schedule. Around 80% or over 500 flights, were also canceled at New York’s LaGuardia Airport as well as 540 were canceled at John F. Kennedy International Airport. At Newark Liberty International Airport, more than half or 400 Saturday flights are officially canceled. 

Meanwhile, Republic Airways, which flies for airlines American, United, and Delta, grounded 400 flights. This is 60% of Saturday’s schedule. American decided to halt 355 mainline flights or 13%. United canceled 242 or 13%. And Delta scraps 81 flights or 3%. 

While speaking about the flight cancelations, the airlines say they are waiving fare differences for the customers impacted by the storm. The majority of the companies have already removed change fees for standard tickets due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

JetBlue Cancels Flights at Nearly 20 Airports As the Airline Prepares For Upcoming Storm 

U.S. airline JetBlue announced earlier this week that it was planning to waive change/cancel fees and fare differences for customers planning to travel on Friday (January 28th) through Saturday (January 29th) at nearly 20 airports. These airports are notably in the path of the upcoming winter storm. 

Among the airports that the airline is canceling flights from are Albany, NY; Boston, MA; Buffalo, NY; Burlington, VT; Charlotte, NC; Hartford, CT, both JFK and LGA in New York City, NY; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Providence, RI; Washington, DC; and Syracuse, NY. 

The airline also announces that customers may rebook their flights for travel through Tuesday (February 1st) online through its Manage Flights section of its website. This must be done prior to the departure time of their original flight. Customers with canceled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment.

The latest round of flight cancelations comes just weeks after the airline announced it had to cancel about 10% of its planned flights capacity through mid-January. This was due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant quickly spreading and getting a lot of the company’s employees sick. 

In a statement, the airline shared, “We expect the number of COVID cases in the northeast… where most of our crew members are based… to continue to surge for the next week or two. This means there is a high likelihood of additional cancellations until case counts start to come down.”