Customer service representative Julia Jacoby directs a traveler to the nearest security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012, in Atlanta.(Photo: David Goldman AP)
Air travelers getting an early start home after the Thanksgiving
holiday were finding mostly clear skies and on-time flights this morning
(Nov. 23).
As of 9 a.m. ET, no significant delays were being reported anywhere in the USA, according to flight-tracking service FlightStats.
Today's
smooth sailing is a welcome change from the busy Wednesday "get-away
day," when what was expected to be a smooth start to the busy
Thanksgiving flight schedule instead got off to a bumpy thanks to
unexpected fog in Chicago and the Midwest.
Nearly 200 flights were
canceled at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports and another 1,600 were
delayed at the two airports because of fog and poor visibility, The Associated Press reports. St. Louis also saw significant delays through noon, with fog the culprit there as well.
By
afternoon, the weather had improved in Chicago and the Midwest. But,
for fliers, the damage was done as the earlier delays and cancellations
disrupted thousands of passengers.
Going forward, calm weather was
forecast through the weekend for much of the nation -- including at the
USA's biggest and most delay-prone aviation hubs. And, aside from the
fog in the Midwest, significant weather-related problems remained
unlikely - provided of course that the current forecasts prove accurate.
Only minor problems loomed for the rest of the week, according to current forecasts.
The
only possible area of concern (as of 9 a.m. ET Friday) appeared to come
in the East, where the delay-prone airports in the New York and
Philadelphia areas were forecast to see minor to moderate winds Saturday
and Sunday.
Even there, the current forecast did not suggest a
major disruption is likely, though minor weather delays could mix with
congestion delays common to those airports during peak travel periods.
Despite
the rosy holiday travel outlook, fliers - as always - were advised to
check on the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
Safe travels!
USA Today