Travel has come to a near halt in parts of the Northeast on Monday, February 23, as Winter Storm Hernando leads to thousands of flights cancellations around the world.
Forecasters are predicting this to be the most powerful winter storm the US has seen in close to a decade, with New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia already blanketed in snow. Close to 40 million people are currently under blizzard warnings, with 19 million more facing winter storm warnings.
As a result, many major airlines around the world have grounded flights to and from the US East Coast, causing knock-on travel disruptions at airports around the world. “Travel will grind to a halt across much of the Northeast,” says Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s Chief Meteorologist. “Thousands of flights are being canceled at major hubs in the Northeast, with impacts cascading across the country. Rail and bus service will be suspended. Many roads and even major highways may be impassable for hours.”
“People attempting to drive through this storm could end up stranded for hours in dangerous conditions,” Porter says. “Travel headaches will linger into Monday as crews work to clear the roads.”
Here’s what travelers need to know.
Travel bans and advisories
A state of emergency has been declared in many US states, including Massachusetts, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, with travel disruptions spreading from Virginia all the way up to Maine.
So far, New York City is among the worst-hit cities, with a citywide travel ban in place from 9 p.m. Sunday to 12 p.m. Monday, temporarily closing all NYC streets, highways, bridges, and tunnels to non-emergency vehicular traffic. Speaking at a news conference on Sunday evening, New York’s governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, saying the storm would be “something the likes of which we’ve not seen in years.” Across the city, schools are closed, Broadway shows have been canceled, and there is a city-wide ban on e-bikes, widely used for food deliveries.
Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut also issued travel bans on Monday morning. Pennsylvania and Washington DC, although not expected to be as severely impacted, have also said they are on high alert.
Flight delays and cancellations
As of Monday morning, more than 5,000 flights have been canceled, with hundreds more delayed, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Roughly two-thirds of Sunday’s departures from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) were canceled, with more than 70% of Monday’s departures across the region being halted, per Aviation 24. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), are also seeing widespread flight cancellations.
Many major US carriers have issued travel waivers, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, allowing passengers to rebook at no extra charge.
Delta says it expects disruptions to last until at least Tuesday, February 24. “As Delta teams continue to monitor Winter Storm Hernando, Delta expects to suspend operations at its New York-LGA, New York-JFK, and Boston Logan hubs into Tuesday, February 24 due to extreme winter weather conditions. The storm is also creating broader disruptions along the East Coast, and customers may experience additional schedule adjustments as the system moves through the region,” the airline said in a statement. “Customers traveling in affected areas are encouraged to move their flights before or after the storm.”
In the UK, more than 30 scheduled flights between London Heathrow and JFK were canceled on Monday, with dozens more from Scotland, Ireland, and the northern UK affected.
In the Middle East, major carriers including Emirates and Etihad have also canceled flights. Emirates confirmed several cancellations between Sunday, February 22, and Tuesday, February 24, affecting routes between Dubai and Newark, JFK, and Boston.
What to do if you have travel planned in the Northeast this week
As with any major travel disruption, thousands of canceled flights are likely to cause a knock-on effect for several days as airlines scramble to rebook passengers stranded across the world.