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A severe winter storm in the southern United States led to the cancellation of over 3,000 flights on Friday, with thousands more experiencing significant delays, according to airlines and FlightAware, a flight tracking website.
Delta Airlines reported that a combination of unexpected winter weather conditions forced the closure of all five runways at Atlanta International Airport for over two hours. This led to the cancellation of approximately 1,100 flights, as the airline worked to recover its operations heading into Saturday.
In another incident, a Delta Airlines flight had to abort its take-off at Atlanta due to an engine issue, leading to an emergency evacuation of more than 200 passengers and crew via emergency slides.
Other major airports, including Dallas Fort Worth and Charlotte Douglas, also saw widespread disruptions, with more than 1,200 flights canceled between the two locations. FlightAware’s data indicated that over 3,000 flights were canceled across multiple airports by the end of Friday.
The storm, which had already caused widespread chaos earlier in the week, claimed the lives of at least five people and left thousands without power as it moved across the central and eastern United States. Temperatures in some regions plummeted to below -18°C (0°F), further exacerbating the impact on travel and infrastructure.
