🚨 Blizzard Grounds East Coast Flights — Newark Among Hardest Hit

A powerful winter blizzard brought air travel across the East Coast to a near standstill Monday, and New Jersey felt it in a big way.

Nearly two feet of snow fell in parts of the Garden State as heavy winds and whiteout conditions slammed the region. The National Weather Service warned of dangerous travel due to blowing snow and near-zero visibility, and airports responded quickly. More than 4,800 U.S. flights, about 20% of all scheduled departures were canceled Monday morning. For perspective, the national daily average hovers around 1%.

✈️ Major hubs hit hardest included:

• Newark Liberty International Airport
• LaGuardia Airport
• Boston Logan International Airport
• Philadelphia International Airport

At LaGuardia, nearly all flights were grounded. Newark saw widespread cancellations and delays, with international arrivals also significantly impacted. And it’s not over, as of early Tuesday, roughly 40% of flights at LaGuardia, JFK, and Boston were already canceled, signaling a slow recovery as crews work to clear aircraft and reposition staff. Major airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines issued travel waivers, allowing passengers to rebook without change fees.

Airlines often cancel flights ahead of major storms to prevent aircraft and crews from being stranded, but the scale of this shutdown shows just how intense this system was. This also comes just weeks after a January winter storm reportedly cost American Airlines up to $200 million, highlighting how brutal this winter has been for air travel.

New Jersey may be digging out, but the ripple effects are still grounding flights across the region.