NEW YORK — The winter storm sweeping through the Northeast has forced the cancellation of about 85% of the flights at the three major airports in the New York City region.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Steve Coleman says 1,124 flights are cancelled at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday.
Coleman says about 200 passengers are stranded at Kennedy airport, where 757 flights are cancelled.
Newark Liberty International Airport has more than 1,000 flights cancelled. AirTrain Newark service is suspended and free alternate shuttle buses are being provided.
Southwest Airlines, which carries more domestic passengers than any other airline, doesn’t expect to operate any flights Tuesday at 14 airports stretching from Washington to Portland, Maine. Southwest cancelled about 900 flights, while American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines each cancelled more than 500.
Tracking service FlightAware.com says Tuesday’s cancellations bring the total for the week to around 7,740 flights. An additional 650 flights have been cancelled for Wednesday, a number that FlightAware expects to rise as the airlines scramble to resume operations.
In Canada, Air Canada has issued a long list of travel alerts for flights departing Tuesday and Wednesday. Affected flights, which include destinations like Charlottetown, Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Toronto, may be “impacted by forecasted adverse winter storm conditions.”
The airline, which has revised its ticketing policy for customers booked on affected flights to facilitate changes to bookings, says that it “is monitoring the situation closely and is working to get you on your way safely and as quickly as possible.” It advises travellers to check their flight status prior to leaving for the airport. Click here to see the full list of alerts: www.aircanada.com/ca/en/…/daily-travel-outlook.html
WestJet has also issued a winter storm system warning for Canada’s East coast between March 14 and March 15, and in Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Southern Ontario for Tuesday. Passengers can expect delays and/or cancellations. A warning is also in effect Tuesday and Wednesday for New York and Boston.
With file from The Associated Press
