Snow, icy roads and freezing temperatures brought by a storm crossing the Mid-Atlantic region on Monday disrupted the return to routine for millions of people after the two-week Christmas holiday period. In addition to closing offices and schools, the storm also disrupted travel in parts of the country with train and plane delays and cancellations.
Travel conditions were particularly bad in Washington, where Ronald Reagan National Airport closed all runways Monday afternoon, an unwelcome development during an extremely busy week for the nation’s capital. Earlier Monday, Congress ratified the victory of President-elect Donald J. Trump in one of his first acts of business in the new year and on Thursday, President Jimmy Carter’s funeral will be held at the Washington National Cathedral.
The storm caused more than 9,000 flights at airports from Texas to New York to be delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service. Airports in the greater Washington, DC metro area were hardest hit, with more than 80% of departures at National Airport canceled. The airport said it closed runways to allow airport crews to focus on snow removal before temperatures drop further. Emily McGee, a spokeswoman for the airport, said that while terminals will remain open with limited service, runways will likely remain closed until Tuesday morning.
At National’s baggage claim area, weary travelers lined up to check in with their airlines. Others sat on their bags, on the floor and on the baggage carousel, checking their phones or making calls or trying to catch a few minutes of sleep.
Philadelphia International Airport and Kennedy International Airport in New York relied on ground stops during the day to manage air traffic and prevent airport congestion, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. More than 400 delayed departures were reported at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and the number of flight delays increased at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Among the worst-hit carriers were American Airlines, with more than 1,000 flights delayed, or 30 percent of its daily schedule, and Southwest Airlines, which delayed more than 990 flights, or 27 percent of its daily schedule of, according to FlightAware. Southwest also canceled more than 500 flights.
Southwest, Delta Air Lines and other airlines have issued travel waivers that allow customers to rebook their trips without change fees to more than a dozen winter-affected cities.
The advice didn’t help Nick Grimaldi, who was scheduled to fly from Jamaica home to Virginia Beach, Va., on Monday with his family after a vacation trip. Their flight at 2 p.m. departing Montego Bay and bound for Baltimore-Washington International Airport was repeatedly delayed and eventually canceled. The connecting flight to Norfolk, Virginia, where their car is parked, was cancelled. His kids will miss at least one more day of school. Mr. Grimaldi said he was disappointed that Southwest had not canceled its flight to Baltimore earlier, when flights with other airlines were still available. Now, he said, he would spend the whole night trying to arrange flights to return home tomorrow.
“Today was a roller coaster ride. We felt everything was under control leaving the resort,” said the 47-year-old Mr. Grimaldi, in a direct message on social media. “Southwest needs to work on its process and allow customers to exit their flights when it doesn’t go as planned, especially when the blizzard was always coming.”
The train service was also significantly disrupted. Citing severe winter weather and equipment problems, Amtrak canceled dozens of trains in the Northeast and Midwest. Destinations affected included Boston, Washington, New York, Chicago and Raleigh, NC
An air traveler in Washington wasn’t too upset, even after her flight plans from National Airport were rescheduled multiple times over two days. Aleena Shahan, who lives in Richmond, Virginia, had planned to fly to Cincinnati Sunday night on Delta for business, but her original flight, and then three more on Monday, were canceled. She is staying with her family and has been rescheduled for another flight on Tuesday morning.
“They’ve been very good about rebooking us,” he said of Delta.
Travel was expected to remain broken throughout Monday night. Washington and Baltimore could see more light snow as the storm continues, the National Weather Service said, and parts of New England could see snow in the coming days. Another winter storm is expected to affect Texas later this week.
Chris Cameron contributed reporting from Washington.
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