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US airlines have delayed several flights this morning as winter storms hit some US states and Texas with their heaviest attacks. Half an inch of snow/sleet is expected in parts of Texas by Wednesday morning.
Weather disturbance
As of 09:40 PT, 1,861 flights were delayed across the country, and a further 695 were cancelled. Southwest Airlines, which suffered a major setback in late December, has kept its delay and cancellation rates at record lows. The Dallas-based airline said that of the 3,828 flights scheduled today, only 332 (8%) were canceled and 255 (6%) were delayed.
Photo: Steve Heap Shutterstock
According to information from FlightAware, the two Dallas-area airports were the most affected. At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, 117 flights were canceled and an additional 97 were delayed, accounting for 13% and 11% of daily operations, respectively. Dallas Love Field, Southwest’s main airport, has a significant cancellation but low delay rate.
Denver International Airport (DEN) was the next hardest hit airport with more than 100 delays and cancellations. Suspensions are low in Denver but could increase as the day progresses. About 5% of the flights operated today were 48 canceled flights and another 72 delayed flights or 8% of the schedules.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport is close behind DEN with a high delay rate and extremely low cancellation rate. So far, 113 flights have been delayed at O’Hare, which is 12% of the airport’s daily operations. Only 11 were cancelled, accounting for 1% of the daily schedule.
Southwest defied the weather last night and this morning extended eight airports across Texas and Oklahoma for flights today through Wednesday. American Airlines, which is headquartered in Fort Worth and uses DFW as its hub, has issued travel cancellations from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2.
Weather disruption in New Zealand
Around the world, air travel was severely disrupted in Auckland, New Zealand, after rain battered the city and flooded the airport. The floods forced the airport to close for a few days, opening for domestic services on Saturday and international services on Sunday.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace Easy flight.
The flooding left more than 1,000 international travelers stranded at the airport. Over the weekend, the airport issued an update saying it would take time for schedules to return to normal.
Airport infrastructure was severely damaged, and airport staff and volunteers worked through the night to ensure everything was cleaned up and operational before international services resumed.
Auckland Airport chief executive Cary Hourihanganui thanked more than 100 volunteers who gave up their time to help solve problems at home.
As a result of the airport closure, both American Airlines and Emirates operated long-haul flights that landed in the city of departure. EK448 was traveling from Dubai to Auckland for about six and a half hours when the plane returned to Dubai. AA35, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by the airline, turned around five hours before its flight from DFW to Auckland and returned to Dallas.
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