Nearly 1,500 flights have been canceled throughout the country as the massive Winter Storm Olive hits multiple U.S. states this week.
FlightAware data indicates 1,421 flights within, into, and out of the United States have been canceled as of 1:50 p.m. Wednesday. An additional 2,629 U.S. flights have been delayed.
At Denver International Airport alone, 9 News reported, nearly 200 flights had been canceled as of 6:45 a.m.
In response to the weather-related disruptions, Southwest Airlines has issued a travel advisory and will allow customers to reschedule affected flights.
Breitbart News noted Tuesday that multiple other carriers, including Delta Air Lines, Sun County Airlines, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, and American Airlines, are also issuing waivers for canceled flights.
Fox Weather reported Tuesday that upwards of 40 million people in the U.S. are under a winter weather alert. The outlet noted Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa are all under blizzard warnings.
While the most intense activity is expected to occur in the great plains and upper Midwest, the NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center indicates inclement weather is anticipated across the country – from New York to California.
The storm is expected to span multiple days, with snow predicted to start Tuesday in parts of the Rockies, Plains, and Great Lakes and a “mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain” persisting in upstate New York and New England until Friday.
The Minnesota Star Tribune noted the storm “appears to be headed for a spot on the Top 10 of all time.”
Citing National Weather Service meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein, the outlet reported the southern and central portions of the state are expected to receive between 16 and 22 inches of snow.
Hasenstein added that wind gusts are expected to reach 30 to 40 mph in the Twin Cities on Wednesday and Thursday.
Over the last year, a number of disruptions related to air travel have occurred.
In December, as Breitbart News noted, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg faced criticism from members of his own party for failing to hold airlines accountable after the nation suffered a wave of cancellations in December.
Rep. Rho Khanna (D-CA) wrote that he and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) had “called for Buttigieg to implement fines & penalties on airlines for cancelling flights” and asking why “these recommendations were not followed.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) wrote President Joe Biden on Thursday urging him to request Buttigieg’s resignation, citing among other transportation issues, “Near misses in commercial aviation, as well as recent system failures.”
Rubio specifically mentioned air traffic disruptions in early January. CNN reported that these disruptions imposed “hours-long flight delays” on passengers.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told the network these disruptions were caused by an “air traffic computer issue.”
Later that month, the FAA’s Notice to Air system crashed, grounding all U.S. flights and leading to the “biggest systematic breakdown in air travel since the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” as Breitbart News noted at the time.
You can follow Michael Foster on Twitter at @realmfoster.
