Travel disruptions have reached unprecedented levels due to Winter Storm Fern, with over 11,000 flights canceled across the United States as of Sunday afternoon. This figure marks the highest number of cancellations recorded since the onset of the pandemic, according to FlightAware. The storm, which started on Friday, is moving eastward and is expected to affect the Northeast into Monday.
On Saturday alone, 4,104 flights were canceled, a significant rise from 690 on Friday. Anticipating further cancellations, airlines have already reported 2,465 additional flight cancellations scheduled for Monday, particularly affecting major airports like Boston Logan International and those in the New York City area. As the storm subsides, the affected regions will still face severe cold and icy conditions, with predictions indicating temperatures colder than those experienced in New York over the past eight years.
Multiple airports, including LaGuardia and those in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Texas, are either closed or operating under significant delays. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has seen more than 10% of its flights canceled, while Charlotte Douglas International also reported similar impacts. Power outages have affected around 80,000 households in Georgia, and transit services have been suspended in New Jersey and Charlotte until Monday morning.