|
  |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Flight delays in East have domino effectStorm grounds more than 2,100 flights
NEW YORK (CNN) -- More than 2,100 flights were canceled Monday as airports from Virginia to New York struggled to dig out from under a severe snowstorm, resulting in flight delays across the United States. Normal flight schedules might not resume until Wednesday, stranding passengers as far south as Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida, airline officials said. (Stranded in Florida) The East Coast delays had a domino effect on flights nationwide, said Travelocity.com air traffic expert Rally Caparas. "If you're not already in the sky and headed to Boston or New York, you're going to be sitting on the ground likely until tomorrow," he said. "This is a major event for the airlines," Caparas said. "It's time to relax. You're not going anywhere soon." American Airlines canceled nearly every flight into or out of the Northeast, 550 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport alone, airlines officials said. United Airlines cancelled 382 out of 1,719 scheduled flights Monday. In the Washington metropolitan area, Ronald Reagan Washington National and Baltimore-Washington International airports were closed. National was not expected to reopen until 7 a.m. Tuesday. Flights at BWI, which was hit with near-record snowfall, were not expected to resume until at least 8 p.m. Washington is under more than a foot of snow, with more than 2 feet blanketing the suburbs. (Full story) Two runways -- one operational, one as backup -- were open at Dulles International Airport. Officials there reported flight delays of two to three hours. Philadelphia International Airport was closed until at least 6 p.m. Monday, officials said. Twelve inches of snow closed New York's LaGuardia Airport. Officials might reopen runways there by noon Tuesday. (NYC snow story) John F. Kennedy International Airport, which received 17 inches of snow, and Newark International, swamped with 11, are open but experiencing "massive delays," officials said. Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, reported no significant delays, but that was expected to change once the snow began piling up in New England. Forty flights out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 15 percent of the daily load, were canceled Monday, spokesman Jim Reynolds said. The South Florida-New York route is the airport's busiest, carrying about 7,000 passengers a day, he said. "We're seeing more cancellations today than at any time in recent memory," Reynolds said. Several passengers called ahead or checked Web sites to see if their flights were canceled, but many more did not, Reynolds said. The terminals were filled Monday morning with would-be passengers talking on cell phones, playing cards and sitting on luggage. At least one person passed the time doing yoga, he said. Travelers were advised to check flight and airport status online instead of phoning airports and airlines, which are swamped with calls, Caparas said.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
