Nearly 10,000 flights canceled since holiday blizzard began
Baku, December 29 (AZERTAC). Close to 10,000 total flights have been canceled since the beginning of a holiday blizzard that blanketed much of the U.S. northeast with snow and left thousands stranded.
Airline representatives from AirTran, American, Continental, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, United, U.S. Airways, Spirit and Southwest reported a total of at least 9,726 trips were called off due to weather since Saturday. Of those, at least 1,335 flights were canceled on Tuesday as major airports across the region slowly got back to normal. "With all the cancellations and delays, it`ll be two to three days before the airlines are at a regular schedule," said Thomas Bosco, general manager of New York`s LaGuardia Airport.
By early Tuesday evening, LaGuardia was still operating well below its normal 70 flights per hour, he said.
John F. Kennedy Airport, in the New York City borough of Queens, and Newark Liberty International, in northern New Jersey, opened to incoming and departing traffic at 6 p.m. Monday, Port Authority spokeswoman Sara Joren said.
AirTran spokesman Christopher White said his airline didn`t plan any more cancellations Tuesday after dropping 81 flights on Monday. Instead, White said, AirTran planned to operate additional flights out of LaGuardia, Boston`s Logan Airport and White Plains, New York`s Westchester County Airport to get people home. The city has requested private tow companies to assist in cleanup efforts
Bloomberg noted that New York City is also facing blood-supply shortages and asked residents to donate, saying, "We need your help now more than ever." According to Connecticut Light & Power`s website, the number of its customers affected by the storm dropped dramatically from 33,712 on Monday to 753 by Tuesday afternoon. CL&P services 1.2 million Connecticut residents, so less than 1% of customers state-wide were affected. Some 10,000 customers in Westchester County and New York City lost power due to storm and tree damage, according to a Consolidated Edison statement.
By Tuesday, 500 households remained without power, ConEd said.
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