Airplanes on the tarmac during a snow storm at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.
Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Airlines canceled nearly 4,000 U.S. flights scheduled for the weekend as a massive winter storm sweeps across the country, with heavy snow and sleet in the forecast followed by bitter cold.
More than 560 U.S. flights were canceled on Friday, with nearly 2,400 canceled from Saturday’s schedule, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Many of Saturday’s cancellations were in and out of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, with more than 1,100 scrubbed flights, and at Dallas Love Field, with 180 cancellations, the majority of the schedule at each airport.
Carriers canceled another 1,600 U.S. flights scheduled for Sunday, though those numbers could rise as the storm approaches.
Airlines routinely cancel flights ahead of a major storm to prevent planes, passengers and crew from getting stranded, which can worsen disruptions after severe weather moves out.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and other U.S. carriers said they are waiving change and cancellation fees as well as fare differences to rebook for customers with tickets to and from more than 40 airports around the country. The waivers include restrictive basic economy tickets.
American said it was repositioning its airplanes and increasing staffing at major airports to help soften the impact of the storm and to “set the stage for a fast, safe recovery once conditions improve.”
The National Weather Service is warning that the winter storm could affect hundreds of millions of people and is expected to “bring widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday.”