Though we’re only in the second month of the new year, it looks like airline companies have already experienced what looks like the worst travel day of the year. With more than 6,200 flight cancellations and an additional 3,700 delays, February 13th has become the worst day for air travel in 2014. From the Carolinas to Massachusetts, a major snowstorm that attacked the East Coast earlier this week has left thousands of travelers stranded. This marks the second month in a row with a major airline shut down due to severe weather concern.
Last month American airports were hit with another snowstorm forcing 4,110 cancellations as this horrible winter continues onward. While the shutdown on January 6th seemed bad, what makes the snowstorms on February 13th so apparently horrible is that the widespread nature of the weather disaster caused airports in the southern region too shut down. Typically warmer southern states like North Carolina and Georgia don’t experience such harsh weathers but this year data indicates otherwise. Both North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Georgia’s Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International reported over 450 flight cancellations prior to noon according to data from FlightAware.
As FoxBusiness stated in an article yesterday, business commuters coming from the suburbs of New York City faced a shifted schedule as Metro-North ran on a significantly reduced capacity at only 75% of what it normally operates. In a similar sense, New Jersey Transit passengers faced 30 to 60 minute delays systemwide. In addition, Amtrak was forced to operate on a modified schedule with certain lines at a minimized rate.
While last Thursday represented what appears to be the worst year for travel, with such a horrific winter thus far we can only expect worse.
