As many as 6,500 flights have been grounded as New York City and much of the north east of the US has been left immobilised ahead of a mammoth winter storm.
With Winter Storm Juno expected to dump around 36 inches of snow, a state of emergency has been declared across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
New York City issued a ban on all non-emergency vehicles last night (from 11pm local time, Monday 26 January), as well as the suspension of all subway services.
The US’s National Weather Service warned that a “potentially historic blizzard” was approaching the region with the heaviest snow falls expected in the early hours of this morning.
Major US airline carriers including Delta, United and American Airlines cancelled flights yesterday and today. Delta cancelled 730 flights yesterday and a further 960 today.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic advised passengers intending to fly transatlantic to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport, while British Airways warned that some flights to and from the US are going to suffer disruption due to the severe weather. A spokesperson from BA said: “Many flights may need to have de-icing treatment before they are cleared for take off, and this might also lead to some flight delays throughout the day.’
