Air travel in New York City and the surrounding area experienced major disruptions on Sunday, Dec. 14, as the first significant snowfall of the season led to ground stops at some of the region’s busiest airports.
Departing flights were held at their terminal gates in both the affected airports and the origin airports of incoming flights, causing dirsuption to thousands of flights.
Ground stops at JFK International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) resulted in delays of three and six hours, respectively. At LaGuardia, 42% of the scheduled flights were delayed, and 35% cancelled, while at JFK the numbers were 41% and 15%.
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) was also placed under a ground stop, resulting in over half of its flights delayed and 9% cancelled. Delays of just over an hour were reported.
Newark Liberty National Airport (EWR) in New Jersey also had 45% of its flights delayed and 20% cancelled. The delays were of just over four hours.
In total, the weather led to over 1,000 delayed flights and more than 100 cancellations across U.S. airports.
As the weekend ended, the snowstorm had brought between 1 and 4 inches of snow to parts of New York. In Long Island and New Jersey, some spots saw up to 8 inches of snow.
The American Weather Channel reported that tens of thousands of people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania were affected by power outages caused by the adverse weather. The snowfall came after the Northeast U.S. had endured days of below-freezing temperatures, with temperatures predicted to rise Monday through Thursday.
Were you affected by these disruptions? Share your experience in the comments below.
