Winter Storm Fern, one of the biggest storms to hit the United States in years, has caused havoc for travellers in large parts of the country.
With heavy snow, sleet and ice conditions battering the US, air travel has been significantly impacted. According to flight tracking service FlightAware, 11,615 flights within, into, or out of the US on Sunday were cancelled, with another 6,154 flights delayed. And thousands more services are predicted to be grounded on Monday (US time), with 5,489 flights already cancelled within the US and another 6,991 delayed.
In its latest update, Delta Air Lines says “through Jan. 27 travel to/from/through these airports may be impacted: ATL, BOS, EWR, JFK, LGA”.
On X, it states that “As weather permits, we’re resuming flights where it’s safe to do so”.
“Freezing temps in ATL and lingering weather in the Northeast may affect flights Monday morning,” it added in an update Sunday (local time).
At American Airlines, teams “are working around the clock to safely ramp up operations across our network in the wake of Winter Storm Fern”.
“Five of our nine hub airports were significantly impacted by this large and disruptive storm, including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), where operations have been significantly impacted by frozen precipitation and sustained below-freezing temperatures,” it stated on X.
On it website, it adds that “Fern is impacting cities that don’t typically have the infrastructure in place to manage these conditions, and we’ve seen that manifest in staffing issues across the aviation ecosystem, including with vendor partners and federal partners who have also struggled to make their way on the roads”.
Meanwhile, United Airlines, tells flyers that it has removed “most change fees” for flights, warning of a long list of affected airports in the Eastern and Southern US.
For Eastern US flights, United says on its website that “You can reschedule your trip and we’ll waive change fees and fare differences”. “But, your new flight must be a United flight departing between January 21, 2026 and February 2, 2026 [January 29, 2026 for Southern US flights]. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked.”
But the storm isn’t just disrupting air travel in the south and east of the nation.
According to FlightAware, more than 200 flights had been cancelled at Los Angeles Airport in the 24 hours up to 10am Monday (local time). Another seven were cancelled at Hollywood Burbank Airport, 24 at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and 12 at Ontario International Airport, the LA Times reported.
Analytics company Cirium said in an update that Sunday was the worst day for flight cancellations since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 10,766 flights being canceled out of 23,735 departures.
US airlines have advised travellers to stay up-to-date with any changes by checking their websites and social media.
Winter Storm Fern has been linked to at least 18 deaths, The Guardian reported.
