Storm grounds 5 800 US flights
2011-02-01 22:38
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Chicago - More than 5 800 US flights were cancelled on Tuesday as a monster storm dumped freezing rain, sleet and snow on a huge swath of the country, a travel website reported.
Airlines also protectively cancelled nearly 2 800 flights on Wednesday, FlightAware reported. Nearly 800 flights were cancelled Monday.
Dallas-Fort Worth airport, a major hub, was closed briefly on Tuesday morning due to the ice storm and delays were averaging about three hours once it re-opened.
Chicago's O'Hare, among the busiest airports in the world, had the most cancellations with more than 1 100 flights affected on Tuesday as airlines prepared for blizzard conditions to strike in the afternoon.
Another 100 flights were cancelled at the city's secondary airport, Midway.
"Airlines at both O'Hare and Midway anticipate cancelling additional flights throughout the day," cautioned Karen Pride, a spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Some 900 flights were cancelled in Dallas, 650 in Newark, and nearly 1 100 at New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports.
"This storm is going to have a significant impact on airlines, particularly those with hubs in Chicago (United, American) and Newark (Continental)," the website warned.
