Blizzard has led to nearly 7000 canceled flights

Flight tracking service FlightAware says more than 5,500 flights to, from or within the USA have been canceled this weekend due to the blizzard hitting the East Coast.

United will not operate Saturday and Sunday service at Dulles and other Washington metro area airports and expects to gradually resume service on Monday.

United and Hawaiian airlines canceled flights to and from Honolulu as a blizzard on the East Coast created problems for travelers across the country.

Delta Air Lines preemptively canceled 120 flights in the Southeast region and is expected to cancel more for the Washington DC and NY region as the storm progresses.

Passengers were told to re-book flights through their airlines, if necessary.

She said nearly all morning flights had been canceled, but American Airlines – the airport’s dominant carrier – planned to have more than half of its remaining flights operating by mid-afternoon.

Cities affected include Memphis, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Houston, Richmond, Norfolk, Newark, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York, Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland, Louisville, Philadelphia, Charlotte, N.C., Raleigh-Durham, Nashville, and Greensboro, N.C., according to Miami-Dade Aviation Department spokesman Marc Henderson. Airlines have been much more proactive in recent years about canceling flights, often doing so up to a day in advance.

“Reagan National and Dulles International airports continue to experience significant snowfall and high winds, forecast through the early morning hours on Sunday, making snow removal on the runways, roadways and parking lots hard”, MWAA said in a statement. With airlines now giving more notice on cancellations, many travelers won’t even venture to the airport. But also call the airline directly. Finally, consider sending a tweet to the airline. The real secret to the lounges is that the airline staffs them with some of its best – and friendliest – ticket agents.

– If weather causes cancellations, use apps like HotelTonight and Priceline to find last-minute hotel discounts for that night.

Flight boards at O’Hare International Airport show cancellations Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 in Chicago.