Thousands of US flights canceled, thousands more delayed as winter storm wallops southeast
Major hubs at the center of the chaos were Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
A dangerous winter storm slammed the southeast U.S. over the weekend, canceling and delaying thousands of flights.
On Sunday alone, nearly 5,700 flights had been delayed while more than 4,700 flights had been canceled, according to the latest data from FlightAware.com.
Flight cancellations show on a departure board at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as a winter storm moves into the area Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
Among the hardest hit were American Airlines, Southwest, and Delta. According to the data, American had some 630 flights canceled, and more than 300 delayed. Southwest had more than 300 flights canceled and more than 360 flights delayed. Delta had 240 flights canceled about the same number of delayed flights.
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Major hubs at the center of the chaos were Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Charlotte, which is a major hub in the South for American Airlines, canceled more than 600 flights. In Atlanta, where Delta Air Lines operates its main hub, some 200 flights had been canceled by early afternoon.
American Airlines told Fox Business that the weekend's winter storm has had a "significant impact on our operation, especially at Charlotte International Airport (CLT)."
"The vast majority of impacted flights were canceled in advance, so we could proactively notify and accommodate our customers and avoid last-minute disruptions at the airport," the company said in a statement. "Additionally, we issued a travel notice to allow customers whose travel plans are impacted by the storm to rebook without change fees."
Fox Business has reached out to Southwest, Delta, and United for comment.
Meanwhile, hundreds of flights were bracing for moderate to severe turbulence that was forecast up and down the east coast, with the most severe centered in northwest North Carolina, the center of the winter storm, according to the Aviation Weather Center.
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The winter storm has already left tens of thousands of customers without power in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. Highway patrols were reporting hundreds of vehicle accidents, and a tornado ripped through a trailer park in Florida.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.