Heavy snowfall, particularly across the Midwest, during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend on the 29th led to the cancellation of over 1,000 passenger flights and the delay of thousands more.
According to FlightAware, a flight tracking website, as of 1:30 p.m. ET, a total of 1,830 flights departing or arriving in the United States had been canceled. A total of 3,810 flights were delayed, and the number of cancellations and delays is expected to increase further this afternoon.
About half of the canceled flights in the United States were concentrated at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the largest airport in the Midwest. Ground delays were ordered at O’Hare International Airport this morning due to snow and ice, delaying flights to the airport by an average of five hours, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
A winter storm with heavy snow is hitting the Midwest, including Chicago, causing disruption to air traffic throughout the region. The Thanksgiving holiday is a time when air travel demand surges as Americans travel to visit family and friends or go on vacation. Some areas in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Michigan are forecast to see up to 15 to 35 centimeters of snow by the morning of the 30th.
The National Weather Service’s Chicago office warned that snowfall is expected to increase through the evening and urged drivers to drive with caution. Meanwhile, aircraft manufacturer Airbus issued a large-scale recall of its flagship A320 family of passenger aircraft the previous day, raising concerns about flight cancellations and delays around the world. However, swift software upgrades have prevented any major disruptions to operations.
Major foreign media outlets, including AFP and dpa, reported on the 29th that, thanks to the swift intervention of Airbus and airlines, no major disruptions have been reported at airports or airlines worldwide.