1,000 Flights Canceled Due To Snowstorm In Chicago

More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at airports in Chicago due to a massive snowstorm that has moved into the area.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the winter storm is expected to drop close to 10 inches of snow on Chicago.

O’Hare International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country, has already cancelled 850 flights. Nearby Midway Airport has canceled more than 230 flights.

WGN reports that airlines are cancelling flights proactively as the storm has not caused any major delays at the airport just yet.

Southwest Airlines, which has hundreds of flights out of Midway every day, has cancelled all of its flights between 10 am and 5 pm today.

Southwest wrote on its website:

“As snow continues to pile up and the storm generating it moves on, Planners at both Southwest and AirTran have made operational adjustments at airports across the upper Midwest and Ohio Valley, the Great Lakes, and mid-Atlantic regions. Southwest Airlines has canceled a total of nearly 200 flights systemwide as of this hour. For context, Southwest had 3,252 flights scheduled today. Since Thursday, and including tomorrow, AirTran Airways has canceled a total of nearly 20 flights systemwide as of this hour. For context, AirTran 553 flights scheduled.”

Here’s a video report about the snowstorm moving through the Midwest.

But the airports aren’t the only ones being effected by the storm. Dozens of schools had classes cancelled today during the storm, at least one train was cancelled due to the snow, and the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation dispatched more than 280 trucks this morning to salt the roads.

Peter Scales, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, told the Tribune:

“When a storm of this magnitude is approaching, it is now standard protocol to remove the barriers before the storm hits, to make certain the access points are available before the snow starts to fall.”

Are you surprised that Chicago has cancelled more than 1000 flights? O’Hare and Midway are both in operation today so if you are flying in or out of Chicago make sure to check with your airline about the status of your flight.