Winter Weather Disrupts Air Travel
Frigid temperatures and blistering winds continued to disrupt air travel for a third straight day as airlines scratched thousands of flights amid a brutal bout of winter weather.
Carriers canceled more than 2,100 flights into and out of the U.S. on Monday and delayed nearly 3,500 others, according to data from FlightAware shows. The arctic blast, which began Friday, caused thousands more flight cancellations and more than 16,000 delays over the weekend, according to the tracking service.
As of early Monday, 142 million people in the U.S. were under wind chill alerts, while 100 million had received winter weather alerts, according to CBS New senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson. The bitter cold and snow, which has shuttered schools, blocked roads and knocked out power in a number of states, is expected to taper off around midweek.
Extreme Weather Causes Flight Cancellations
As a powerful winter storm sweeps across the United States, it is leaving a trail of freezing temperatures and flight cancellations in its wake. The storm is expected to bring sub-zero temperatures to some southern states and bone-chilling winds from the Northern Rockies into Iowa, where temperatures could plummet to a near-record low of around 30 degrees below zero in the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service.
These freezing temperatures have raised concerns about voter turnout in Iowa, as the state's Republican presidential contest kicks off. Travelers in several cities have already experienced the harsh conditions, with a significant number of flight cancellations reported. Chicago's Midway International Airport saw 30% of its flights canceled, while airlines nixed approximately a fifth of flights at Dallas Love Field Airport, Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and Nashville International Airport, according to FlightAware.
Southwest Airlines, one of the major U.S. airlines, had to cancel 400 trips on Monday, which accounted for 16% of its daily scheduled flights. This is not the first time the airline has faced flight schedule issues, as it has struggled with software system problems and worker shortages in recent years.
The extreme weather conditions are not the sole cause of the recent wave of flight cancellations and delays. Last week, both Alaska Airways and United Airlines had to cancel hundreds of flights after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of their Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The FAA's decision came after an incident where a "door plug" fell off an Alaska Airlines Max 9 plane during a flight, prompting an investigation into the manufacturing of these planes.
