Ice Storm Causes Thousands of Weekend Flight Cancellations

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

One of the worst ice storms in years is leaving frigid cold air, treacherous conditions, and thousands of stranded passengers in its wake from Texas to Tennessee.

In many areas, more than half of an inch of ice on trees and power lines caused failures on Thursday and Friday.  The area near Dallas, Texas received as much as 3” of sleet.  North of the ice storm, up to a foot of snow was reported in south-central Missouri and northern Arkansas.

As of 5 p.m. on the east coast, over 800 flights had been canceled on Saturday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport alone, according to FlightStats, a flight reporting service.

Late on Friday, a Lufthansa plane became stuck in a buildup of ice after landing at DFW and trying to make a turn on a taxiway.

The problems in the region caused widespread delays and cancellations throughout the country. American Airlines cancelled over 1,300 flights.  ExpressJet cancelled almost 300 and Southwest Airlines reported almost 1,500 delays but only 78 cancellations.

The delays will continue throughout the weekend.  American Airlines has already cancelled over 300 flights scheduled for Sunday.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)