Winter Storm Wreaks Havoc: Airlines Ground Over 1,000 Flights and Offer Travelers Flexibility

A significant winter storm rushing through the nation struck the East Coast on Monday, resulting in turmoil at airports over the weekend and leading to the cancellation of over 1,000 flights to commence the working week.

The storm, which initially originated from the Rockies, disseminated hazardous ice and snow across the United States, affecting more than a dozen states throughout the journey, as reported by AccuWeather. By Monday, the storm was progressing East with snow anticipated over northern Virginia and extending to central Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey.

“AccuWeather snow specialists are increasingly alarmed about perilous travel repercussions from substantial snowfall across portions of the mid-Atlantic, notably Washington, D.C., and the Baltimore metropolitan region,” AccuWeather’s Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter stated in a report.

The adverse weather conditions swiftly transitioned into flight disturbances with over 1,490 flights canceled within, into, or out of the U.S. as of Monday morning, according to flight tracker FlightAware. This followed the cancellation of more than 1,800 flights on Sunday.

Most of Monday’s cancellations were centered around the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) reported the highest number of cancellations with over 230 flights canceled — constituting 60 percent of the airport’s outgoing schedule. This was followed by Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Dulles International Airport (IAD).

“Our airfield snow team is present for the entirety of the storm,” DCA announced on X late Sunday evening, urging passengers to “keep a close watch on flight schedules with your airline for potential changes.”

Among the airlines, Southwest Airlines experienced the highest number of cancellations, exceeding 360, followed by Republic Airways, which operates flights for other major airline partners, and American Airlines.

Multiple airlines provided flight waivers for states as distant as Kansas, Ohio, Maryland, and further, including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.

Washington D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a Snow Emergency in anticipation of the storm, compelling drivers to relocate their vehicles off snow emergency routes. Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore similarly called a State of Emergency and “strongly advised” individuals to refrain from traveling, while New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy declared a State of Emergency for the southern regions of the state.