While much of the country has been hit with bone-chilling cold, Toronto was seeing heavy snowfall Sunday into Monday morning, causing severe flight chaos at both of the city’s airports. Up to 50 cm (20 inches) of snow were forecast for some areas of the GTA, while Toronto Pearson had registered 46 cm by 2 a.m. – the snowiest day on record!
Environment Canada agency issued an orange winter storm alert – signifying severe weather likely to result in significant damage, disruption or health impacts – and warning of significantly reduced visibility with strong wind gusts up to 50 kph per hour throughout the day before the system started moving out overnight.
Heading east, the storm threatens eastern Canada with similar amounts of snow on Monday.
In Toronto, as of 4 p.m. Sunday, just over 60% of Pearson International Airport’s departing flights for the next 24 hours had been cancelled and about the same incoming flights on Sunday had been halted, according to the airport’s website. In total nearly 500 flights each, taking off and landing, had been cancelled and another 10% delayed.
About half the flights at Billy Bishop airport were similarly affected and both facilities advised passengers to check their flights before going there.
The frigid temperatures caused by a polar vortex blanketed much of Canada in recent days as some areas in the Prairies experienced wind chill temperatures into -40s. There are also orange alerts in place across the Prairies.
Severe cold weather also led to flight delays or cancellations at most of Canada’s major airports.
U.S.
Meanwhile, south of the border, the massive winter storm made for a brutal travel day Sunday, with widespread cancellations and delays at some of the nation’s busiest airports.
Widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people – more than half the U.S. population – in a path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, the National Weather Service said. After sweeping through the South, the storm moved into the Northeast Sunday, and was expected to dump about 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 feet) of snow from Washington through New York and Boston.
More than 11,000 flights were cancelled on Sunday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Sunday morning, the storm is the highest experienced cancellation event since the pandemic.
By Sunday afternoon, the majority of flights were cancelled at busy airports in the Northeast and elsewhere. LaGuardia Airport in New York closed Sunday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency said on its website the busy Queens airport grounded flights until 8 p.m.
Significant disruptions also hit major airport hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Atlanta, home to the nation’s busiest airport.
American Airlines had cancelled almost 1,800 flights for Sunday, about 55% of its scheduled flights for Sunday, according to FlightAware. Delta Air Lines reported over 1,470 cancellations and Southwest Airlines reported over 1,340 cancellations for the day, while United Airlines had over 1,000. JetBlue had more than 590 canceled flights, accounting for roughly 72% of its schedule for the day.
If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.