Airlines cancel more than 5500 flights due to blizzard

Flights to and from a handful of US cities are being disrupted at Macdonald-Cartier International Airport this weekend as a major winter storm batters the east coast.

“Coupled with the continued closure through the weekend of roads and public transportation in surrounding communities, these conditions make resumption of normal flight operations at the airports unlikely on Sunday”. Airlines at Chicago’s two major airports have canceled 215 flights largely due to a blizzard threatening down on the East Coast.

One bit of good news: Saturday is the slowest travel day of the week.

It is unclear if Sunday’s United Airlines flight to NY will depart Scottish tarmac as planned.

The tally since Friday of cancelled flights now tops 10,000.

A state of emergency was declared across a vast swathe of the eastern seaboard, with individual states in near-shutdown after thousands of flights were cancelled, schools and government offices closed and sports and entertainment events called off.

In Charlotte, one of the nation’s busiest airports and the second biggest hub for American, a limited flight schedule resumed Saturday after the Friday’s entire schedule was mostly grounded.

According to flight tracking site FlightAware many airlines have reported cancellations.

BWI Airport tweeted Saturday afternoon there could be some airline flights there on Sunday and “That will depend on weather conditions and airline operational decisions”.

“The vast majority of passengers were made aware by their airlines of cancellations – Heathrow is running normally as most people have already been told”, they said.

– If your flight is canceled – and you are at the airport – get in line to speak to a customer service representative. It also lets airlines restart the system quicker because they have planes and crews in place.

“When severe weather in other parts of the country affects air travel, it can have a ripple effect across the industry”, said the airport’s Rebecca Bloomfield. However, those figures are not just for flights affected by the blizzard.

Cancellations are also expected Sunday.