System-wide disruptions are anticipated to impression air journey this vacation weekend as a significant winter storm bears down on a lot of the nation.
More than 1,600 flights had been canceled “within, into or out” of the United States for Friday, together with 53 at Boston Logan International Airport, as of Thursday afternoon, in accordance with FlightAware, a web site that tracks that knowledge.
The cancellations comprised 11% of the whole flights deliberate out of Boston Logan, which is anticipating its busiest post-pandemic vacation season.
“There are expected system-wide disruptions for air travel (Thursday) and Friday due to Winter Storm Elliott, which will bring snow, high winds and freezing temperatures to much of the U.S.,” the Massachusetts Port Authority mentioned in an announcement.
“Many airlines are waiving change fees and Massport recommends passengers contact their airlines regarding their travel plans.”
Massport, which operates Logan Airport, mentioned greater than 1 million passengers are anticipated to fly into or out of Boston from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2, a rise over 2021, however a decrease quantity than what was seen in pre-pandemic 2019.
Nationally, air journey will see a 14% uptick over final yr, with almost 7.2 million Americans anticipated to fly between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. The variety of folks taking vacation flights this yr will come near 2019, when 7.3 million Americans traveled by air, in accordance with AAA.
Data from the Transportation Security Administration helps these projections. The variety of passengers screened at TSA checkpoints all through U.S. airports has constantly been greater than 2021 and 2020, however decrease than 2019, other than Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
On Tuesday, roughly 2.4 million passengers have been screened in comparison with 2.08 million in 2021, 1.19 million in 2020 and 1.93 million in 2019. On Wednesday, 2.19 million passengers have been screened in comparison with 1.97 million in 2021, 992,169 in 2020 and 1.98 million in 2019, in accordance with TSA knowledge.
Massport advises vacationers that there could also be durations of “robust activity” at TSA checkpoints all through the day, however these traces usually transfer shortly. It’s really helpful that individuals arrive two hours early for home flights and three hours early for worldwide flights.
A full listing of things that may and can’t be taken aboard flights, together with details about unwrapped presents, is out there on the TSA web site.
“As always, Massport encourages travelers to check with their airports for the most updated flight statuses and travel information before heading to the airport,” the port authority mentioned.
“Parking is expected to be near capacity during the holiday travel period and travelers are urged to take alternate transportation options to get to the airport.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”
