A winter storm that ravaged the East Coast of the United States has also impacted the normally sunny Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on the West Coast, causing widespread flight delays and cancellations.
According to FlightAware data, last Friday saw 35 departing flights and 96 arriving flights canceled at LAX, with additional 11 departing and 246 arriving flights delayed. On Saturday, there were a significant increase in temporarily adjusted flights, totaling 87 cancellations and 246 delays.
By Sunday, LAX experienced 107 canceled departing flights (12%) and 137 delayed flights (16%), along with 114 canceled arriving flights (12%) and 156 delayed flights (18%). In the East Coast region, airports in New York, Philadelphia, and the Washington D.C. area saw flight cancellations reaching as high as 80% to 95%.
As the major snowstorm across much of the U.S. subsided on Monday, flights bound for Los Angeles totaled 59 cancellations (7%) and 125 delays (15%) as of 3:30 pm. Airports in the East and South still faced widespread delays and cancellations.
Airports with the highest cancellation rates included Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Texas, Logan International Airport (BOS) in Boston, the three major airports in the Greater New York Area – John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), along with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Connecticut, and Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV) in Louisiana.
The average cancellation rate of flights at these airports was around 50%, with some exceeding 60%. The arrival flight cancellation rates at the major New York airports JFK, EWR, and LGA were 33%, 39%, and 40% respectively.
On Monday, the airlines with the most canceled flights included American Airlines (41%), Republic Airways (56%), JetBlue Airways (47%), and GoJet Airlines (40%).
From last Friday to Monday at 4:00 pm, over 20,000 domestic and international flights were canceled during the entire storm period. Sunday marked the highest number of flight cancellations, with at least 11,615 flights canceled, almost matching the peak of 12,143 flights on March 30, 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
This has been one of the most severe ice and snow storms in the United States in years, sweeping across over 30 states from east to west, reaching as far south as Texas and affecting nearly 200 million people. Despite the storm passing, transportation authorities still advise air travelers to check their flight statuses before departure. ◇