Massive snowstorm sees over 600 flight cancelations
Struggling airline industry has had to jump through more hoops during this week's weather
FOX Business’ Kristina Partsinevelos reports from ‘Restaurant Row’ in New York as the city and its businesses brace for a winter storm.
U.S. airlines, already struggling under the economic downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic, were forced to cancel more than 600 flights this week as a massive snowstorm pounded the East Coast.
Cities in upstate New York saw more than 40 inches even as strong gusts knocked out power lines to thousands Wednesday night.
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The tracking service FlightAware reported Thursday that total cancellations domestically or internationally, incoming or outbound, were tallied at 640.
United Airlines topped the list, with 103 cancellations and 36 flight delays.
A passenger rides in a Long Island Rail Road train car as snow starts to fall Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, in the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Southwest Airlines canceled 77 flights, JetBlue Airlines called off 63 and both Delta and American Airlines abandoned 48.
Boston's Logan International had the most canceled flights, standing at 93, and New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport had 80.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 57.99 | -0.86 | -1.46% |
| DAL | DELTA AIR LINES INC. | 51.52 | -0.27 | -0.52% |
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 11.56 | -0.23 | -1.95% |
| JBLU | JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP. | 6.42 | -0.01 | -0.16% |
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 29.53 | -0.40 | -1.34% |
While most U.S. airlines had announced flight waivers in preparation for the storm and a holiday travel surge, the covered destinations varied.
Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson stresses the need for more federal aid 'to keep people in their jobs' and connected to health care, as well as to keep service to communities.
Though storms during typically lucrative holiday travel periods are regular hurdles for airlines, the aviation industry has been deeply scarred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Major U.S. carriers are hemorrhaging millions of dollars every day, and the International Air Transport Association estimates that losses globally will total roughly $118 billion by the end of the year, according to WTTW.