With much of the United States still reeling from a nearly weeklong winter storm, flight cancellations and delays and other transportation challenges continued to pile up on Christmas Day.
More than 1,400 flights within, into or out of the United States were already canceled by 9:30 a.m. Sunday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. And delays of flights still able to takeoff numbered almost 1,700. Christmas Day is traditionally a light day for passenger flights.
As the sun was rising on the East Coast, it was an airport in the South -- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), the busiest in the world for passengers -- leading the pack on cancellations and delays. The rest of the top five were in traditionally colder climes:
• John F. Kennedy International In New York (JFK)
• Newark Liberty International Airport in nearby New Jersey (EWR)
• Boston Logan International (BOS)
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (ETW)
Buffalo Niagara International airport tweeted that it would remain closed entirely until Monday.
At 9:50 a.m. Sunday, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport listed 60 arrivals canceled for the day and 34 departures canceled.
A rough week for flying
The massive storm's arrival was ill-timed for travelers who had started pushing Christmas week flying numbers back toward pre-pandemic levels.
On Christmas Eve, there were a total of 3,487 flights canceled, according to FlightAware. Friday was the worst day with 5,934 cancellations, while Thursday saw almost 2,700 cancellations.
This megablast of winter weather across the eastern two-thirds of the nation is forecast to slowly moderate into Monday. As of 8:20 a.m., there were just 83 cancellations for Monday.
Bus and train service
Late Saturday night, Greyhound posted its latest bus service disruptions, which were centered around routes into and out of Buffalo and Syracuse in New York.
If you're taking a Greyhound bus, you can click here for the latest information for your bus.
Amtrak's last service alert was posted Friday. It said then the severe weather "has caused Amtrak to make several service and cancellations from now through Sunday, December 25."
The train company said impacted customers should be able to take trains leaving at similar times or on another day. You can click here to get the latest Amtrak service alerts on delays or to @AmtrakAlerts on Twitter.
First Published December 25, 2022, 3:01 p.m.
