Flight cancellations top 12,000+ into Monday as winter storm hits U.S.

Major airlines have cancelled more than 12,000 flights across the U.S. for Saturday (Jan. 24) and Sunday (Jan. 25) as a powerful winter storm is expected to bring ice, snow, and extremely cold temperatures to large parts of the country.

FlightAware reported that more than 3,700 flights were cancelled Saturday, and over 8,200 were called off for Sunday—the highest number of single-day cancellations since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

At Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, every flight scheduled for Saturday was cancelled, and all Sunday morning departures were also called off.

Major airports including Dallas–Fort Worth, Nashville, and Charlotte Douglas were among the most affected.

Delta Air Lines said the cancellations at certain airports in North Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee were made to keep passengers and staff safe.

American Airlines, headquartered at DFW, added 17 additional flights to and from the airport on Friday and Sunday to accommodate travellers trying to adjust their plans.

Eight extra flights were scheduled to depart DFW on Friday, with nine more arriving on Sunday.

The carrier also scheduled 17 extra flights on Saturday between Charlotte Douglas and Chicago O’Hare.

Dallas airport officials released a winter weather advisory, advising passengers to check road conditions, and confirm their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport.

In preparation for the storm, dubbed "Winter Storm Fern,” major U.S. airlines issued travel waivers, letting customers change their travel plans without extra fees.

On Saturday, roughly 140 million people – more than 40 per cent of the U.S. population – were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England.

The U.S. National Weather Service forecast warned of heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina.

Disruptions until at least Monday

Sunday is expected to be the most disruptive day nationwide, both for air travel and storm impacts.

By noon Eastern Time that day, airlines had already cancelled more than 7,600 flights scheduled for Sunday, according to FlightAware.  

More than half of Sunday's scheduled flights had been cancelled already at Washington's Dulles International Airport (IAD), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and several other Northeast hubs from Boston to Philadelphia

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled for Monday as well.

Flexible ticketing

The disruptions impact Canadian carriers, too.

Air Canada has activated a flexible ticketing policy for select U.S. destinations, including Boston, Raleigh Durham, Washington and New York.

The company's policy remains in effect through January 27 for certain U.S. destinations. Click here for more.

WestJet also has a flexible rebooking policy in place for flights to Atlanta.

Similarly, a winter storm warning has also been applied to WestJet flights heading to Halifax and Moncton from Jan. 26-27. Click here for details.

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