Airlines Cancel More Than 12,000 Flights as ‘Catastrophic’ Winter Storm Moves In

Air travel was disrupted in parts of the United States on Jan. 24 as a “catastrophic” weekend storm plowed through the Southern Rocky Mountains and into New England.

As of 4:00 p.m. ET, more than 12,500 flights scheduled for Saturday and Sunday were canceled, according to flight tracker FlyAware.

More than 3,870 flights were cancelled on Saturday, with the most impacted airports including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Nashville International Airport, Dallas Love Field Airport, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Georgia.

Airlines scrapped more than 8,720 flights on Jan. 25, with the most affected airports being New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

American Airlines—which has its flagship hub at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport—had the most flights cancelled this weekend, followed by Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, Republic Airlines, and United Airlines.

Tens of thousands of people in Texas woke to power outages on Saturday morning as the winter storm barreled through the South. As of 2:30 p.m. ET, over 56,443 customers were without power in the Lone Star State.

The power outages could worsen as Dallas is forecast to experience “life-threatening cold” with a “mix of freezing rain,” “heavy thundersleet” and snow through Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Counties across the state line in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas also started reporting outages by 11:30 a.m. ET.

By 4:00 p.m. ET, more than 43,000 customers in Louisiana lost power. Around 2,900 restoration workers from one of Louisiana’s top electric utility providers mobilized ahead of the storm, but warned “restoration may take additional time due to hazardous weather conditions and increased system demand.”

Nearly 6,500 customers in Arkansas were also without power.

Mississippi opened over 40 warming shelters for people, as animal activists with the non-profit Paws of War rushed to save 200 dogs found on a rural property in Tupelo, before the ice storm swept through.

One of the rescued dogs gave birth to puppies shortly after receiving a foster home, according to a Jan. 23 Facebook post from Paws of War.

“She is one of the dogs we removed from the property, just days away from delivering her puppies in brutal conditions,” the non-profit shared on Facebook. “Without rescue, her babies would have been born into cold and danger.”

The Department of Transportation in Tennessee responded to a surge of spinouts on highways and interstates involving semi-trucks, vans and passenger cars in Memphis around 1 p.m. ET and encouraged cars to “stay off the roads.”

​A State of Emergency has been declared in multiple states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.