Rough air travel ahead: Nearly 600 flights preemptively canceled Sunday, worst may be yet to come

Air travel got off to a smooth start this long weekend, but it didn’t last long.

By the early morning hours of Sunday, airlines began to preemptively cancel filights ahead of expected snow in the Northeast. Further disruptions were possible Monday and Tueday in the Deep South thanks to a second winter storm, this one a potential whopper brewing off the Texas coast.

First up, though, was the threat of wintry weather in the Northeast.

Airlines had preemptively canceled 585 flights as of 12:45 a.m. EDT on Sunday morning, with most of those coming at the airports serving the New York, Washington and Boston metro areas. Nearly three dozen Monday flights had already been canceled, as well.

Leading the pack of Sunday cancellations: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), where a combined 178 arrivals and departures had been canceled — or about 17% of the airport’s entire daily schedule, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. Washington’s Dulles International Airport (IAD) was No. 2, with roughly 15% of Sunday’s scheduled preemptively canceled. Both airports are hubs for United Airlines.

More delays were possible Sunday once the flakes actually begin to fall across the region.

Disruptions could continue into next week from the second of a one-two punch to air travel. That second storm was expected to hit Monday, when airports in the Deep South had already begun to warn about another blast of wintry conditions that could wreak havoc in parts of the country that seldom see snow.

That included the possibility of accumulating snow from Texas along the Gulf Coast into northern Florida and then north across megahubs in Atlanta and Charlotte by Tuesday.

Weekend flight cancellations begin, more likely

The long weekend got off to a smooth start for most air travelers, with only 45 cancellations reported on U.S. flights on Saturday and 47 on Friday.

By the early morning hours of Sunday, however, travelers faced hundreds of preemptive cancellations as forecasts of poor weather became more certain.

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Cancellations and delays along the East Coast were likely to grow Sunday from the fast-moving winter storm that was forecast to dump snow on portions of the New York metropolitan area, New England and the surrounding region.

Here is the latest briefing on the potential winter storm for later this weekend. For the full briefing, click the link here : https://t.co/XOyNs6MCfJ
Arctic air with sub zero windchills arrives after the storm departs for the first half of next week !! pic.twitter.com/RFYlJ2XP30

— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) January 18, 2025

Most major U.S. airlines had issued travel advisories for the next couple of days, covering many of the biggest Northeast hubs — from the three large airports in the New York City area, to Boston, Philadelphia and the Washington, D.C. region.

Those waivers gave travelers extra flexibility to make free ticket changes, even when flying on an ultra-restrictive ticket.

Northeast winter weather

Travelers should plan for disruptions getting to or from LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and especially John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Friday.

Those airports’ governing body urged travelers to check with their airline and build in extra time getting to the airport — particularly at JFK, amid ongoing construction at the region’s largest hub.

DC region marred by bitter cold

Making matters worse: Travelers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) had to contend with an outage to its heating system in the terminals, leading to plunging temperatures inside as travelers descended upon the city — itself bracing for bitter cold temperatures — ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Monday.

Our maintenance team is working through the night to repair an airport-wide heating system outage. Indoor temperatures by Saturday morning could drop to colder than normal temperatures, but we will remain open. Airlines, TSA and shopping and dining will operate at their normal… pic.twitter.com/3qpVgwbI8V

— Reagan Airport (@Reagan_Airport) January 18, 2025

More winter weather possible next week
While this weekend’s winter storm was likely to disrupt air travel Sunday and Monday, parts of the Deep South were already planning for the possibility of a winter storm that could bring travel to a standstill. 

The National Weather Service warned of “increasing potential” for a storm that could sweep across portions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia — perhaps bringing “accumulating snow and ice. That could even include cities like Houston, New Orleans and Tallahassee, Florida, that rarely see wintry weather.

In addition to the winter storm in the Northeast, another winter storm may develop and impact much of the Deep South early next week. Here is our first Key Message about that potential winter storm. pic.twitter.com/2AUuq4TY7z

— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 17, 2025

United Airlines, which operates a major hub at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), had already issued an additional travel waiver for next week’s developing storm, covering a slew of southern airports, including its Houston base.

Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) took to social media to note its preparations ahead of the impending storm.

❄️ Winter weather at AUS means teamwork, preparation, & coordination!