The meteorological department has issued a warning that a large-scale winter storm will sweep across the United States this weekend, bringing heavy snow and freezing rain to many areas, followed by extreme cold weather. As a result, airlines have already cancelled nearly a thousand flights on January 23.
The National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts that from the Southern Rockies extending to New England, a “significant and long-lasting” winter storm will occur from Friday (January 23) through Monday (January 26). According to data released by the flight tracking website FlightAware, as of 4 p.m. on Friday, 993 flights have been cancelled, with 565 of them being same-day flights (including domestic and international flights).
Among the flights cancelled on that day, Southwest Airlines cancelled the most flights, with 105, followed by American Airlines and Air Canada cancelling 79 and 71 flights respectively.
The NWS warns in its weather advisory that this winter storm will bring heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain, potentially causing prolonged power outages, extensive tree damage, and “extremely dangerous or nearly impossible travel conditions.” Even after the storm passes, communities from the southern plains to the northeastern United States will still face “bone-chilling temperatures and extreme wind chill effects,” which could lead to “long-lasting dangerous travel conditions and infrastructure damage.”
In response to this extreme weather, several airlines have issued travel notices. For example, Southwest Airlines’ notice states that passengers with bookings departing, arriving, or connecting on corresponding dates can adjust their itineraries for free within 14 days before or after the original departure date between the same city pairs, following the airline’s passenger accommodation procedures. Southwest Airlines has extended the scope of this travel notice to 46 airports, applicable to passengers traveling from Friday to Monday through the southern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
Delta Air Lines issued a second travel notice on Friday, informing passengers traveling through airports in the southern and southeastern United States from Saturday to Monday that if they rebook tickets of the same class by January 29 (Thursday), they will not have to pay fare differences. However, if they rebook after the 29th, fare differences will apply. Delta Air Lines had previously issued a similar notice on January 22 for passengers in the Eastern North America region.