Thousands of flights delayed, cancelled as storms disrupt US holiday travel
Post-holiday weekend airline traffic was thrown into chaos as a mix of snow and ice bore down on the US Northeast.
By Maria Tsvetkova and Rich McKay
December 28, 2025 — 9.58am
Boston: Thousands of US flights were cancelled or delayed due to snow across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions as holidaymakers took to roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Year’s.
New York City received about 10.2 centimetres of snow on Friday night into early Saturday (Saturday AEDT), slightly under what some forecasts had predicted. But by the morning, both the roads and the skies were clearing.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled at New York’s major airports as a significant winter storm descended on the city and neighbouring regions.Credit: Bloomberg
“The good news is that the heaviest snow is done. Only a few flurries remain,” said Bob Oravec, a forecaster at the National Weather Service.
But travellers were feeling the effects. More than 9000 domestic US flights on Saturday were cancelled or delayed as of early evening, with many in the New York area. The New York Times reported that about 20 per cent of flights from LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports were cancelled and another 25 per cent were delayed as of 2.30pm Saturday (6.30am Sunday AEDT), citing tracking site FlightAware. Detroit, Philadelphia and Boston airports also saw cancellations and delays.
Representatives from American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways said the carriers had waived the change fees normally charged to rebook passengers whose travel plans were affected by weather-related disruptions.
Oravec said the storm was moving towards the Southeast, with the largest snowfall in the New York City area reaching over 15 centimetres in central eastern Long Island. Farther north in the Catskills, communities saw as much as 25 centimetres.
The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel conditions from the Great Lakes through the northern mid-Atlantic and southern New England, with the potential for tree damage and power outages.
In Times Square, workers in red jumpsuits worked to clear the sludge- and powder-coated streets and sidewalks using shovels and snowblowers.
Jennifer Yokley, who was there on a holiday trip from North Carolina, said she was excited to see snow accumulating as it dusted buildings, trees and signs throughout the city.
