Travelers pass at a departure screen at Detroit's Metro Airport on Oct. 29, 2012.(Photo: Charlie Riedel, AP)
The number of flight cancellations resulting from Hurricane Sandy
topped 19,000 Wednesday morning as air travelers dealt with major
disruptions for a fourth consecutive day.
Flight-tracking service FlightAware.com
put the total at 19,500 as of 9 a.m. ET, while competing service
FlightStats.com put the number at 18,455 in its 5:30 a.m. update.
FLIGHT TRACKER: JIA arrival & departure times
Regardless
of the precise total, there is consensus about one thing: Sandy has
been a nightmare for travelers across the USA, and flight disruptions
could continue through the weekend.
With the three big New York
City-area airports still struggling to resume operations, it seems as
though thousands more cancellations are possible today.
Already, more than 2,801 flights have been canceled today (Wednesday, Oct. 31) according to FligthtAware, a number that comes as airports from Washington to New York to Boston struggle to resume flight operations.
And FlightAware says nearly 500 already are off the schedule for
Thursday, hinting that major disruptions will extend clear into the
weekend.
As for the cancellation details, here's the breakdown directly from FlightAware:
- 1,300 flights cancelled Sunday.
- 7,884 flights cancelled Monday.
- 7,074 flights cancelled yesterday (Tuesday).
- 2,801 flights cancelled so far today (Wednesday)
- 481 cancellations so far tomorrow (Thursday)
USA Today