Texas winter storm causes hundreds of flight cancellations

Airlines have canceled more than 4,000 flights in Texas since Monday when an unusual winter storm that brought record snow, ice and cold temperatures hit the state, creating dangerous road conditions and wiping out energy for millions.

Nearly 900 flights to and from Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport, American Airlines’ largest hub, were canceled on Tuesday, more than half the schedule. Nearly 1,000 flights were canceled there on Monday, when the storm hit travel at the end of President’s Day weekend.

American was placing airport employees in airport hotels to help prevent transportation problems.

DFW flight problems are associated with the weather, but our teams are also having trouble getting to the airport. For the crew, we are protected, but there may be delays when the crew gets in position. For airport staff members, we are leaving hotel rooms closer to the airport. But hotel rooms are limited in the area due to major energy problems.

Intercontinental / Houston George Bush Airport, a major hub for United Airlines and William P. Hobby Airport in the city, a hub for Southwest Airlines, said they would remain closed until 4 pm CT.

More than 100 flights to and from Chicago were also canceled on Tuesday after the region received more snow.

Airline schedules have been drastically reduced because of the pandemic, but the storm came down after carriers saw an increase in demand for the long weekend. Daily screening of United States airports by the Transportation Security Administration reached 1 million on Thursday and Friday for the first time since early January.

Southwest Airlines said on Tuesday that it has seen an increase in demand for leisure travel this month since January, although it is still 65% and 70% below 2019 levels, slightly better than the previous forecast.

“We suspect that there will be a small financial impact from these flight cancellations and delays,” said airline analyst Cowen Helane Becker in a note.