Reuters reported that US airlines canceled more than 4,400 flights in the United States that were scheduled for Thursday and Friday, due to a winter storm hitting the country, the strongest in years, and coinciding with the start of the holiday travel season.
US President Joe Biden described the resulting situation as dangerous.
According to the FlightAware website, more than 2,350 flights were canceled in the United States on Thursday, and another 2,120 on Friday, while the Amtrak passenger rail company canceled dozens of trains during Christmas, disrupting tens of thousands' plans to travel for the holidays.
Another 8,450 flights were delayed yesterday, including more than a third of flights operated by American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
For its part, the authorities warned of the danger of movement during the storm, at a time when Americans are massively using roads and airports during the Christmas season.
Several states have declared states of emergency, including Oklahoma and Kentucky.
The Federal Aviation Administration said yesterday that the winter storm caused a blizzard in the Midwest, with significant travel disruptions expected in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis and St. Paul.
And Delta Airlines - which canceled 140 flights yesterday out of 4,400, and also canceled 90 flights today, Friday, according to the Flight Aware website - warned that "additional cancellations will be necessary today, as the storm continues to affect operations in Detroit and the Northeast."
It is noteworthy that last year's season was affected by the outbreak of Covid-19 among workers, which forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights.
And US airlines announced this week that they will cancel fees for amending reservations and fare differences for passengers in a number of affected areas.