Flight Cancellations Pile Up Ahead of Winter Storm Mateo

Don't look, but another winter storm is coming.

In preparation for Winter Storm Mateo, which is expected to dump heavy snowfall across a large swath of the U.S. from the Great Plains to the Great Lakes through Friday, airlines are canceling flights and waiving change fees.

According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, airlines have canceled more than 600 flights within, into or out of the U.S. for Friday, with a majority of those cancellations coming at Chicago Midway International Airport and nearby O'Hare International Airport.

Chicago Midway, which is an operating base for Southwest Airlines, has already canceled more than 50 percent of Friday's scheduled flights. FlightAware reports Southwest has canceled nearly 330 flights scheduled for Friday, more than any other major carrier.

American Airlines and United Airlines have canceled a combined 68 mainline flights for Friday as of Thursday afternoon. O'Hare-which has canceled roughly 10 percent of Friday's flights-is a hub for both airlines.

The two Chicago airports have already combined to cancel more than 200 flights for Thursday, according to data from FlightAware.

The inclement weather is also forecast to affect airports in cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Toronto.

Air Canada, American, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, and United are waiving rebooking charges for passengers traveling through affected cities ahead of the weekend. However, the travel waivers vary by carrier.

We've issued a travel waiver for February 9th due to the forecasted weather in the Great Lakes region. Please see details here: https://t.co/UFET4CK7Yc. If you need to change travel plans, you can do so at https://t.co/lVlOjYwO0A.

- Delta (@Delta) February 7, 2018

Based on forecasted weather conditions, service to some cities may be disrupted. Check flight status and rebook: https://t.co/ztLW0PGkO9pic.twitter.com/5shOxy5oyM

- Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) February 8, 2018

Winter weather is expected to impact our operations through the rest of the week. Travel waivers are in effect for Chicago, Great Lakes, Ohio Valley & Northeast: https://t.co/IF60HgPIKr. Please visit https://t.co/ufFoKFCcVG or our mobile app for flight status and rebooking. pic.twitter.com/cWJwYOO16I

- United Airlines (@united) February 8, 2018

Travel Alert - February 9-10-11: Toronto (YYZ & YTZ). Details, Flight Status & rebook online. Change fees waived: https://t.co/j6Q9rcq8zw.

- Air Canada (@AirCanada) February 8, 2018

With the expected impact on travel conditions from winter weather conditions, we have enacted the following guidelines aimed at assisting customers scheduled to travel between Friday, February 9, 2018 and Saturday, February 10, 2018.

Details & Updates: https://t.co/yFprl6UYIOpic.twitter.com/FF43z9joUd

- Frontier Airlines (@FlyFrontier) February 8, 2018

As always, travelers are encouraged to check their flight status prior to arriving at the airport.

Road travelers should also check weather updates, exercise caution and leave themselves plenty of extra travel time if staying put isn't an option as several inches of snow are expected in a large zone stretching from Montana to Maine through Friday night. Some places throughout the swath, including the Chicago area, could see up to a foot of snow or more.

Heavy snow is expected to spread across northern Illinois early this evening, then continue into Friday. Travel tonight into Friday will likely be very difficult to impossible at times. Avoid any unnecessary travel. pic.twitter.com/JqOCoUWpz5

- NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) February 8, 2018

Winter Storm Mateo comes on the heels of Winter Storm Liam, which disrupted travel in the Midwest, Northeast, and parts of the South earlier this week.

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