Over 12,000 U.S. Flights Cancelled or Delayed Due to Major Storms

By Paul Riegler on 16 March 2026
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An American Airlines A321T at JFK during a snowstorm

More than 12,000 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed ​or canceled as of mid-afternoon Monday as airlines began to cancel and delay flights ahead of the powerful storms barreling towards the Northeast.

The U.S. National Weather Service said on Monday in a midday weather statement that there is a “major winter storm ongoing in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes” as well as “severe weather along the East Coast.” In the statement, the NWS said: “A major winter storm will continue to bring blizzard conditions, heavy snowfall, icing, and strong winds through today across the Upper Midwest and Upper Great Lakes. Widespread severe storms are expected across the entire eastern U.S. with the highest threat over the interior Mid-Atlantic, where there is a risk for damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes.”

The risk of high winds and severe thunderstorms caused the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to order delays at New York City’s LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports as well as at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Ronald Reagan Washington National, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental, Charlotte Douglas International, and Hartsfield-Jackson International airports were also covered by the order.

As of 3:30 p.m. (15:30) EDT, the hardest hit airports include Chicago O’Hare, with 235 cancellations and 265 delays; Atlanta, with 159 cancellations and 511 delays, and LaGuardia, with 205 cancellations and 122 delays, according to data from FlightAware.com, which tracks such information.

The airlines where the storm delays and cancellations were exhibiting the greatest impact include American Airlines, the world’s largest airline, with 694 cancellations and 979 delays; Southwest Airlines with 470 cancellations and 1,531 delays; and Delta Air Lines, with 469 cancellations and 1,071 delays.

On Sunday, there were almost 3,300 flight cancellations within, into, and out of the United States with an additional 11,700 delays.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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