Washington: Freezing temperatures and heavy snow cancels more than 2,270 US flights on Thursday (local time) ahead of Christmas Holidays reported CNN. Snow, rain, ice, wind and frigid temperatures are disrupting air travel plans across the United States and bus and Amtrak passenger train service.
2,270 US flights by 6 ET pm on Thursday were cancelled and proactively cancelled almost 1,000 flights for Friday, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. For Saturday Eighty-five flights were already cancelled, more than 7,400 extensive delays were reported as of 6pm according to CNN.
Hardest of the impacts have been felt by Chicago and Denver where around a quarter of arrivals and departures hundreds of flights at each airport were cancelled on Thursday according to the data shown by FlightAware.
As per a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Thursday faced delays averaging 159 minutes almost three hours were being caused by snow and ice.
The National Weather Service reported snow and freezing fog. Temperatures at the O’Hare dropped to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 Celsius) around 5 p.m. local time. The FAA said departing aircraft at Dallas Love, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver and Minneapolis airports require spraying of de-icing fluid for safe travel, reported CNN.
Meanwhile, many airlines have issued weather waivers allowing travelers to change their itineraries without penalty during a short window. For those whose flights are still scheduled to depart, the Transportation Security Administration is recommending that passengers arrive at the airport earlier than usual mentions CNN.
Notably, it’s not just flights that are being affected by the bomb cyclone. On Thursday Greyhound issued a service alert warning customers that those travelling in the Midwest over the next two days may have their trips delayed or cancelled altogether.
Being the largest provider of intercity bus service Greyhound listed more than a dozen cities from West Virginia to Minnesota that are among those impacted. Amtrak has also been forced to delay or cancel passenger service for some lines in the Midwest and Northeast.
In its notice, Amtrak said “customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day”, reported CNN. “Amtrak will waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule by calling our reservation center at 1-800-USA-RAIL,” it reported further. (with inputs from ANI)
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