(Jan 27): US airlines are still paring back flights as a deep freeze hampers the restart of operations at some major hubs, with the industry bracing for further disruptions as another arctic blast looms later this week.
Delta Air Lines Inc said unfavourable weather conditions in the Northeast will affect services at its hubs in Boston and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport. American Airlines Group Inc has already axed about 500 mainline and regional services on Tuesday (Jan 27), according to FlightAware, after scrapping more than half of its scheduled flights on Monday.
So far, almost 1,000 flights were cancelled Tuesday as of 1am New York time, according to the data provider. While that’s down from the more than 6,100 cancellations on Monday and Sunday’s 11,600 — the most since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic — it underscores the persistent challenges airlines are facing in getting things back on track.
Frigid temperatures and freezing rain continue to affect large parts of the eastern US and the National Weather Service has warned of another potential significant winter storm later this week. That system will bring a blast of arctic air, keeping parts of the US in a deep freeze as it spreads to the east and southeast and stretches into Florida.
The potential cost of the winter storm is likely to be front of mind for investors when American Air and JetBlue Airways Corp report fourth-quarter earnings this week. That earnings period will reflect last year’s US government shutdown, which led to air traffic control staffing shortages at airports across the country that snarled flights.
American Air has already said that the storm’s impacts were exacerbated by the fact that some of the cities in its path don’t have the infrastructure in place to manage the severe conditions. That led to staffing issues as workers struggled to navigate roads.
See also: Maersk to return to Red Sea as stability improves in region
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
