Airlines have cancelled flights in the Midwest of the USA this week due to the freezing weather, which is causing significant travel disruption. The most impacted airports are Chicago O’Hare Intl (ORD) and Chicago Midway Intl (MDW) – each with almost 60% of flights cancelled today, reports FlightAware. Sub-zero temperatures are the biggest factor impacting travel to/from Chicago and other hubs in the Midwest. Crews cannot safely stay outside very long, constraining their ability to perform services like loading bags and performing mechanical work on aircraft.
In the Northeast, temperatures are warmer and less flights have been cancelled. However, wind is impacting New York hubs. Both Newark Liberty Intl (EWR) and LaGuardia (LGA) have been experiencing heavy delays. Inbound flights to EWR are currently being delayed at their origin an average of 2 hours 23 minutes. LaGuardia (KLGA) is currently experiencing inbound flights delayed at their origin an average of 1 hours 31 minutes due to wind and arrival delays for airborne aircraft of 31 minutes to 45 minutes (and increasing) due to snow and ice.
A total of 2,589 flights have been cancelled to/from/within the United States. 1,359 flights are cancelled tomorrow.
The freezing weather is being caused by a so-called Polar vortex, which has plunged southward, causing temperatures to plummet to under 20 below zero F from North Dakota to northern Illinois on Wednesday morning. Milder air is expected to replace the cold weather this weekend.