Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States early on Jan. 14 as severe winter weather forced many airlines to suspend their flight schedules.
On Jan. 14, 700 flights within, into, or out of the United States were canceled as of 4:10 a.m. EST, according to data from FlightAware. United Airlines led the pack with 220 flights getting canceled. This was followed by Alaska Airlines with 162 cancellations and Southwest Airlines with 146. The Denver International Airport in Colorado and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington were the two airports that saw the highest number of flight cancellations, both as origin and destination airports.
On Jan. 12, the United States saw more than 2,289 flight cancellations, the highest number since July 2023. There were only three days last year on which more than 2,000 flight cancellations were recorded. On Jan. 13, there were 1,369 cancellations.
Flight cancellations are happening as the United States is facing severe winter weather.
Data from the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) show that parts of southwestern Idaho and Eastern Oregon, northern central California, parts of Utah, western Colorado, southeastern Wyoming, Arkansas, western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, northern Louisiana, and eastern Texas were on “Winter Storm Warning” early on Jan. 14.
Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, southeastern Illinois, eastern Oklahoma, northern California, parts of Oregon, northern Nevada, northern Indiana, southeastern Michigan, southern Wisconsin, northeastern Florida, and southeast Georgia were on “Winter Weather Advisory.”
Middle and eastern Tennessee, northern Alabama, and central Mississippi were on “Winter Storm Watch.”
Elevated flight cancellation numbers across the United States are expected during the coming days as weather predictions point to persisting cold conditions and snow.
The NWS forecast “heavy snow” over parts of the Great Basin to the Central Rockies on Jan. 14. Between the evening of Jan. 14 and the evening of Jan. 15, rain/freezing rain is expected over parts of the Southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley, and Tennessee Valley.
“The cold air associated with the high pressure will produce dangerously cold wind chills. In detail, sub-zero wind chills will affect much of the U.S. and reach into portions of the South,” it stated.
“Wind chills through Monday will fall below negative 30 degrees below zero from the Northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa. Values will drop as low as ... 65 degrees below zero from Montana across the western Dakotas.”
Boeing Aircraft Disruption
Issues related to the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft are also contributing to flight cancellations. Earlier this month, there was an accident involving Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 9.On Jan. 5, after taking off from Portland, Oregon, a door plug of the plane’s fuselage snapped off when flying at 16,000 feet, leaving a large hole in the aircraft’s body. The cabin depressurized rapidly, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Portland. Some passengers suffered minor injuries.
Following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded more than 150 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.
“This incident should have never happened, and it cannot happen again,“ the FAA stated on Jan. 11. ”FAA formally notified Boeing that it is conducting an investigation to determine if Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations.”
United and Alaska Airlines are the two largest U.S. carriers that use this aircraft model. More than 200 of the airlines’ flights were canceled every day during the second week of January. The FAA’s order remains in effect.
In a Jan. 12 update, Alaska Airlines stated that 65 of their 231 Boeing 737 aircraft are the Max 9 versions that have been grounded. As such, additional flight cancellations involving the plane are expected through Jan. 16.
“We’re working as quickly as we can to notify our guests of cancellations through Tuesday, Jan. 16. This equates to between 110–150 flights per day. The decision allows us to give our guests further clarity and begin notification and reaccommodation processes,” the company stated.
Preliminary inspections of the aircraft have begun. On Jan. 13, the airlines stated that the FAA asked for more data from Boeing. Up to 20 planes could undergo preliminary inspections.
United Airlines has also canceled Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft flights through Jan. 16. The airline has scheduled roughly 200 flights per day on these planes. It intends to go ahead with 30 of these flights using other aircraft.
“By canceling this far in advance, we’re trying to create more certainty for our customers and more flexibility for our frontline teams to do their work,” United said in a Jan. 12 statement, according to CNBC.
“Those things will be especially important as we also manage disruptive winter weather throughout much of the country.”
Both United and Alaska Airlines stated that they discovered loose hardware or bolts in the assembly of door plugs of the Boeing 737 Max 9.
