A powerful winter storm has ravaged air travel in the United States, with airlines cancelling more than 14,000 flights over the weekend. Torrential snow, ice, sleet and arctic cold swept the nation, grinding operations to a halt.
Saturday saw over 4,000 cancellations, led by Dallas Fort Worth International Airport with nearly 1,500 and Dallas Love Field with 190—most of each day’s schedule.
Sunday worsened, exceeding 10,000 cancellations and 6,000 delays as the storm hit the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
U.S. President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations late Saturday for the “Historic Winter Storms” nearing South Carolina and Virginia. “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
PowerOutage.com reported over 270,000 customers without electricity by 4:15 a.m. ET, worst in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana. The Department of Energy authorised grid operator PJM to deploy resources against Mid-Atlantic cold and damage.
“As Winter Storm Fern brings extreme cold and dangerous conditions to the Mid-Atlantic, maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure power in the PJM region is non-negotiable,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
American Airlines axed 1,056 Saturday flights—over a third of its mainline—while Southwest cut 579, or 20 per cent. Sunday topped 9,100 cancellations, gutting hubs like LaGuardia (90 per cent), Reagan National (96 per cent), Newark and JFK (over 70 per cent).
Carriers including American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United waived fees for rebookings at over 40 airports, even basic economy. American Airlines repositioned planes and staff for swift recovery once weather eases.
The National Weather Service predicts the storm will bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday, threatening hundreds of millions.