Update: December 3, 2019 at 8:10 a.m. ET
The travel industry is slowly returning to normal after a storm slammed the Northeast with heavy snow and ice on Monday, bringing the wintery Thanksgiving holiday travel period to a close.
According to FlightAware.com, over 200 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled Tuesday morning and another 500-plus have been delayed. The disruptions follow around 930 flights cancellations and 7,600 delayed on Monday.
The storm systems that impacted the U.S. over the last week are moving out to sea, giving travelers a temporary reprieve before the next winter storm hits.
Update: December 2, 2019 at 8:40 a.m. ET
Travelers heading home Monday after a long Thanksgiving holiday week or those hitting the skies for work will be dealing with possible delays and cancellations as a storm system continues to dump rain and snow on the Northeast.
Winter weather waivers have been issued for customers traveling to, through or from 22 cities in the Northeast on Monday, including Boston, Buffalo, New York City and Philadelphia.
Major airlines serving airports in the region have also started waiving change fees, such as American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United. Passengers are being advised to call their carrier before arriving at the facility for their flights.
According to FlightAware.com, over 200 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled Monday morning and another 700-plus have been delayed. The disruptions follow around 950 flights canceled and 6,600 delayed on Sunday.
A powerful winter storm that's moving eastward continues to rage on today, disrupting travel for millions of homeward-bound Americans as the Thanksgiving weekend wraps up. The National Weather Service has warned of widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain across the Northeast.
Basically, the bad weather couldn't have come at a worse time, as industry trade group Airlines for America (A4A) forecast Sunday, December 1, to be the busiest travel day of 2019, with an estimated 3.1 million passengers scheduled to fly. CNBC reported that a record 31.6 million U.S. travelers are expected to fly throughout the twelve days around Thanksgiving, an increase of four percent over 2018.
As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, FlightAware.com reported the total number of delayed departures traveling within, into or out of the United States at 2,761, with 555 total cancellations of flights within, into or out of the country. USA Today cited The National Weather Service as saying that Winter Storm Ezekiel (as The Weather Channel has dubbed this system) could make travel in some places altogether impossible.
U.S. air carriers, including American Airlines, United, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, are currently offering travel waivers-which allow passengers to switch flights without paying change fees-to those traveling to, from or through any of the impacted locations. So far, the list includes 29 airports, stretching from Pennsylvania to Maine. The Points Guy reported that United Airlines is even waiving fare differences for yet another day, as the weather continues to escalate.
Blizzards that are already swirling in the Upper Midwest and even snowy conditions on the West Coast are all part of a coast-to-coast weather system that's now culminating in the formation of a nor'easter off the New England coast, which is also expected to drop a significant amount of snow over Eastern states in coming days.
Between six and twelve inches of snow is predicted to fall from northeast New Jersey to Connecticut, with "impactful amounts of snow" arriving December 1 through 2 in Boston and across New England's interior. New York area counties and those further north are expected to receive up to a foot of snow and a quarter-inch of ice through Tuesday, December 3.
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