Nearly 6,000 flights canceled as blizzard blankets East Coast

A brutal nor’easter grounded more than 5,600 U.S. flights slated to depart between Friday and Sunday, with nearly 4,800 flights canceled on Saturday alone.

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According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, cancellations within, into or out of the United States by 3 p.m. EST Saturday totaled 3,562, while another 1,125 flights were delayed by the inclement winter weather.

Affected airlines include JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, USA Today reported.

The lion’s share of impacted Saturday flights, according to FlightAware, had been scheduled to depart from Boston Logan International Airport or the three main aviation hubs for New York City: LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty, The New York Times reported.

Delta confirmed to the Times on Friday that it would suspend operations at all four airports through Sunday morning and then re-evaluate the safety of resuming normal operations later in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, nearly another 1,100 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled for Sunday, according to FlightAware.

Travelers impacted by the meteorological snafu are advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport and to determine independently if travel waivers are in place to allow them to rebook without accruing additional charges, USA Today reported.

American Airlines spokesperson Curtis Blessing told the newspaper that the “vast majority” of impacted flights were preemptively canceled “so we could proactively notify and accommodate our customers and avoid last-minute disruptions at the airport.”

According to the Times, National Weather Service forecasters expect the “powerful and dangerous” nor’easter to push northward over the weekend, bringing with it strong winds, whiteout conditions and potential coastal flooding.

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