US: Flight cancellations now at 2,500+, extend into Wednesday

Air travellers faced a mess Tuesday as a winter storm system moved across the Midwest and Northeast. A mix of snow, ice and heavy rain were forecast from Minnesota to Maine on Tuesday morning, and flights were already being affected. Nearly all big airlines were waiving change fees for airports in the storm's path. More than 2,525 flights had been cancelled nationwide and another 5,570 delayed as of 8:45 p.m. ET. More than 1,200 of those cancellations had been made by late Monday as airlines adjusted their schedules in anticipation of Tuesday’s poor weather. The overall count continued to climb throughout the day and another 290 flights had already been preemptively canceled for Wednesday. Tuesday's flight problems were widespread, affecting dozens of airports from coast to coast. New York’s delay-prone LaGuardia Airport was among the hardest hit early Tuesday. More than 540 combined arrivals and departures had been canceled there, affecting close to half of the entire day’s schedule. There were problems at the New York City area’s two other busy passenger airports. About 20% of Tuesday’s flights had been canceled at both JFK and Newark Liberty. Delays were a major problem across the region. <br/>