A departure sign displays information about canceled flights, during a winter storm at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the United States, February 23, 2026.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
A powerful blizzard on Monday virtually shut down air ground travel at major airports serving New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other parts of the eastern United States. The disruptions are expected to last at least until Tuesday, once again testing carriers on how quickly they can recover as the winter holidays end.
Much of the East Coast, from Maryland to Maine, was under a blizzard warning, with heavy snowfall already totaling nearly 2 feet in parts of New Jersey and Long Island, New York. Strong wind gusts are expected to last all day, the National Weather Service said. The weather service warned that travel would be perilous, with blowing snow causing low visibility.
More than 4,900 U.S. departures on Monday, nearly 20% of total scheduled U.S. departures, were canceled as of 4:10 p.m. ET, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Daily cancellations generally represent approximately 1% of the day’s schedule. Nearly a quarter of incoming international flights have also been canceled.
More than 1,000 departures and arrivals at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, more than 90% of the day’s schedule, were canceled on Monday. More than 90% of flights at Boston Logan International Airport and more than 80% of flights at Philadelphia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey were also canceled.
As of Tuesday, 1,576 flights had already been canceled, or around 7% of the daily schedule, Cirium said. About half of departures at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Boston airports were canceled Tuesday.
American airlines said operations at those three airports are expected to resume Tuesday, adding that flights have already resumed at Philadelphia and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Airlines routinely cancel flights before major storms to prevent planes and crews from being displaced and to facilitate the resumption of operations after the storm passes.
A man sleeps on the floor next to his luggage in Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport in New York on February 22, 2026.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
American, Delta Airlines, JetBlue AirwaysSpirit Airlines and United Airlines has waived fees and fare differences for passengers if they can travel later this week, although some flexible rebooking policies are in place until March 4. Southwest Airlines said customers are entitled to a change without paying a fare difference if they can rebook to fly or fly standby within two weeks.
The winter storm that hit much of the East Coast in January and was followed by bitter cold caused massive travel disruptions across much of the United States.
American had struggled to recover, drawing sharp criticism from flight crews, some of whom were stranded and had to sleep at airports, increasing tensions between front-line employees and the company’s CEO, Robert Isom.
The storm cost American between $150 million and $200 million in revenue, the carrier said last month during an earnings conference call.