Winter Storm Fern causes widespread U.S. flight cancellations and delays

Winter Storm Fern triggered severe U.S. air travel disruption over a late-January weekend, with more than 19,400 cancellations across the country and thousands more into Monday. Major hubs including Dallas–Fort Worth, Charlotte, JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Boston Logan, and Reagan National faced the heaviest impact. Airlines reported high cancellation rates and issued flexible rebooking policies, while some added capacity to help passengers reroute. Delays also mounted as ground holds were implemented at multiple airports during snow and ice operations.

A powerful winter system known as Winter Storm Fern caused severe disruption to U.S. air travel over a late-January weekend, with extensive cancellations and delays across multiple major hubs.

Over the weekend from Saturday through early Monday morning, more than 19,400 flights were canceled nationwide. Sunday alone saw over 11,000 cancellations, with additional cancellations continuing into Monday morning. Certain airports experienced especially high impacts. Dallas–Fort Worth International (DFW) canceled roughly 75% of its schedule, affecting about 3,200 flights. Charlotte Douglas International Airport reported nearly 2,000 cancellations. In the New York area, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark each recorded around 1,500 cancellations. On Monday, Boston Logan reported about 60% of departing flights canceled.

Airlines reported high disruption rates on Sunday. American Airlines canceled nearly half of its schedule (around 1,900 flights), while Delta reported approximately 1,500 cancellations. One report indicated that 38% of U.S. flights were canceled that day, with American Airlines at 49%, Delta at 36%, United at 33%, and Southwest at 26%. Among individual airports, Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) saw a 96% cancellation rate, with LaGuardia, DFW, PHL, Newark, JFK, and Charlotte also recording cancellation rates of 80% or more.

Disruptions continued into Monday with thousands of additional cancellations and delays as airports implemented ground holds and worked to clear snow and ice. JFK experienced delays of up to 270 minutes, and Reagan National averaged approximately four-hour delays. Ground delays were also noted at DFW, Boston, Philadelphia, and Newark. On Monday, about 63% of flights from Boston and 50% from LaGuardia were canceled, with nearly half canceled at JFK, Newark, and Reagan National.

Airlines introduced mitigation measures to assist travelers. American Airlines added more than 6,200 extra seats, including approximately 3,200 at DFW and 3,000 across routes between Charlotte and Chicago. Multiple carriers offered waived change and cancellation fees for trips through affected cities over the weekend. Travelers were advised to monitor flight status closely via airline websites or apps and to consult real-time tracking tools for current delays and cancellations.

The disruption also had knock-on effects beyond the storm’s core. At Miami International Airport, over half of one day’s cancellations were attributed to broader network impacts tied to the storm, despite Miami not being in the heaviest weather.

Overall, Winter Storm Fern produced large-scale cancellations and delays across the U.S., with notable impacts at DFW, Charlotte, the New York airports, Boston, and Washington, as airlines and airports worked to restore operations.