The Federal Aviation Administartion is warning travellers this long holiday weekend that inclement winter weather may cause havoc for air travel across the nation.
“The FAA is closely monitoring the expected winter storm this holiday weekend and working with the airlines to plan for, and around, the anticipated bad weather,” the US aviation regulator said on 12 January.
“Airline representatives sit next to FAA staff at our Command Center and participate in planning calls throughout the day,” the FAA says. “When severe weather conditions occur, the FAA uses traffic management initiatives to dynamically handle the air traffic volume and provides numerous updates to pilots, airport operators and travellers on our operations.”
The warning comes as travellers set out on the first long weekend of the new year – Monday, 15 January is a federal holiday, so many customers are taking a three-day weekend.
Blizzard warnings in the northern mid-western and Great Lakes regions of the USA threaten white-out conditions, with high winds and severe icing. That would cripple all forms of travel, and threatens to throw the US aviation system into chaos.
Already on Friday morning, some regions were struggling to manage their operations. Chicago O’Hare International airport ordered a ground stop for all aircraft on Friday morning local time due to snow and ice. Later in the day, the airport said in a social media post that airlines had “proactively cancelled nearly 850 flights and are reporting delays averaging 25 minutes”.
In the Southeast and Northeast sections of the country, heavy rain and wind is expected in wide swaths of the region, with some states under tornado warnings.
The FAA says it expects to handle 45,324 flights on Friday alone. That figure will fall to 34,580 on Saturday, 36,402 on Sunday and 42,269 on Monday.
As of 13:50 Pacific time on 12 January, 2,048 flights within, into or out of the United States have been cancelled, according to data from FlightAware.com. A further 5,490 have been delayed.
Southwest Airlines was hit hardest on Friday, with the weather forcing it to cancel 10% of its schedule, or 401 flights. Many of those were at its Chicago Midway International airport hub. Regional carrier SkyWest Airlines had cancelled 16% of its schedule, or 356 flights, so far.
Last year, Southwest experienced a system-wide technology meltdown after a heavy winter storm over the end-of-year holiday season that left thousands of passengers stranded across the country. The airline cancelled nearly 17,000 flights during the peak holiday travel period.
The carrier issued $600 million in refunds and travel reimbursements to passengers affected by its performance, and it recently reached a $140 million settlement with the US Department of Transportation. The penalty is to be paid as a combination of fines and vouchers for passengers.
