U.S. airlines have canceled more than 4,700 flights due to depart
Sunday and Monday, ahead of the expected landfall early Tuesday of
Hurricane Sandy.
Airlines canceled 1,030 domestic and international services on Sunday and a further 3,680 due to depart Monday, with east coast airports expected to decide later Sunday whether or not to close.
Airports from Washington, D.C. up to Boston were implementing contingency plans, with the ability of staff to reach work and control towers to remain open in high winds among the key concerns.
Most air traffic control towers close when winds reach 60 to 70 knots, but many of the early disruptions are because of mass transit shutdowns that have affected the availability of airline and airport staff, FlightAware said. New York is shutting down its transit system beginning at 7 p.m. local time on Sunday.
Newark Liberty International Airport accounted for almost a quarter of the U.S. cancellations, with 1,080 services to and from the United Airlines' hub scrubbed over the next two days.
United is suspending operations on Monday and early Tuesday at Newark and Dulles International Airport, as well as 24 others including Boston, Philadelphia and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the average delay on Sunday is one hour for flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport, 88 minutes for flights to Newark, and two hours for flights to Philadelphia.
United has canceled about 1,100 flights over Sunday and Monday. JetBlue Airways, JBLU -0.37% the largest operator at JFK, has canceled 610 flights, and Delta Air Lines, DAL 0.00% the largest carrier at LaGuardia, has canceled 150, according to FlightAware.com.
US Airways Group Inc. LCC -0.16% is expected to announce cancellations later Sunday. FlightAware said it expects cancellations for Monday and Tuesday "to rise considerably."
Forecasters fear Hurricane Sandy will cause flooding, partly because tides are already high with a full moon. That could affect airports, such as JFK and LaGuardia, which is only four feet above high tide, FlightAware said.
So far, airlines have canceled 520 flights on Tuesday, according to FlightAware.com.
Most carriers are allowing affected customers to rebook their travel without change fees, or say they will issue refunds for canceled flights.
Overseas airlines also started canceling services to the east coast Sunday to avoid aircraft and crew becoming stranded.
British Airways, IAG.MC +3.99% the largest trans-Atlantic operator, dropped four of the 12 daily flights operated in partnership with American Airlines, with the last due to arrive in New York at 6 p.m. eastern. It also canceled the first flight Monday from New York JFK to London Heathrow, though the rest of the day's services were due to depart as planned.
Cathay Pacific 0293.HK +0.83% canceled its Hong Kong-New York service for Monday, and cautioned disruption could extend to Tuesday because of public transport problems for passengers and airport staff. Emirates also canceled its Monday flights to JFK from Dubai.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203880704578084841411879024.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co&mod=googlenews_wsj
Airlines canceled 1,030 domestic and international services on Sunday and a further 3,680 due to depart Monday, with east coast airports expected to decide later Sunday whether or not to close.
Airports from Washington, D.C. up to Boston were implementing contingency plans, with the ability of staff to reach work and control towers to remain open in high winds among the key concerns.
Most air traffic control towers close when winds reach 60 to 70 knots, but many of the early disruptions are because of mass transit shutdowns that have affected the availability of airline and airport staff, FlightAware said. New York is shutting down its transit system beginning at 7 p.m. local time on Sunday.
Newark Liberty International Airport accounted for almost a quarter of the U.S. cancellations, with 1,080 services to and from the United Airlines' hub scrubbed over the next two days.
United is suspending operations on Monday and early Tuesday at Newark and Dulles International Airport, as well as 24 others including Boston, Philadelphia and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the average delay on Sunday is one hour for flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport, 88 minutes for flights to Newark, and two hours for flights to Philadelphia.
United has canceled about 1,100 flights over Sunday and Monday. JetBlue Airways, JBLU -0.37% the largest operator at JFK, has canceled 610 flights, and Delta Air Lines, DAL 0.00% the largest carrier at LaGuardia, has canceled 150, according to FlightAware.com.
US Airways Group Inc. LCC -0.16% is expected to announce cancellations later Sunday. FlightAware said it expects cancellations for Monday and Tuesday "to rise considerably."
Forecasters fear Hurricane Sandy will cause flooding, partly because tides are already high with a full moon. That could affect airports, such as JFK and LaGuardia, which is only four feet above high tide, FlightAware said.
So far, airlines have canceled 520 flights on Tuesday, according to FlightAware.com.
Most carriers are allowing affected customers to rebook their travel without change fees, or say they will issue refunds for canceled flights.
Overseas airlines also started canceling services to the east coast Sunday to avoid aircraft and crew becoming stranded.
British Airways, IAG.MC +3.99% the largest trans-Atlantic operator, dropped four of the 12 daily flights operated in partnership with American Airlines, with the last due to arrive in New York at 6 p.m. eastern. It also canceled the first flight Monday from New York JFK to London Heathrow, though the rest of the day's services were due to depart as planned.
Cathay Pacific 0293.HK +0.83% canceled its Hong Kong-New York service for Monday, and cautioned disruption could extend to Tuesday because of public transport problems for passengers and airport staff. Emirates also canceled its Monday flights to JFK from Dubai.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203880704578084841411879024.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co&mod=googlenews_wsj
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