U.S. airlines on Friday were proactively cancelling flights ahead of the major winter storm that is expected to impact major swaths of the U.S. into Monday.
The storm system was expected to hit the Southeastern U.S., followed by the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. According to the Associated Press, Carnival parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled; the report said that at least 177 million people in the U.S. were under watches or warnings for ice and snow and more were under cold-weather advisories. Amtrak said it would waive charges who wanted to change their reservations and urged riders to check its website and mobile app for train status.
By Friday afternoon, more than 2,300 U.S. flights had been canceled for Saturday, including 19% of mainline American Airlines flights and 17% of Southwest flights, FlightAware date shows. American has also canceled 29% of American Eagle-branded flights that were to be operated by its regional subsidiary Envoy Air and 23% of Saturday's schedule for its regional subsidiary PSA.
For now, the epicenter of the cancellation activity is in Dallas, where both American and Southwest are based, and where it is predicted to receive a layer of ice followed by up to a half foot of snow between Friday evening and Sunday. More than 600 flights have been canceled for Saturday at Dallas-Fort Worth, amounting to 69% of the day's schedule, while 65% of Love Field flights have been canceled.
Nashville, where 130 flights have been canceled for Saturday, is another focus.
Airlines have also begun paring their Sunday schedules. So far, more than 1,400 Sunday U.S. flights are canceled dispersed across the projected storm path.
Airlines and airports are encouraging flyers to closely check the status of flights before heading to the airport this weekend. Airlines have also issued travel waivers for broad swaths of their networks, offering additional rebooking, cancellation and fare flexibility.