MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Travelers encountered trouble at South Florida airports as a historic blizzard pummeling the Northeast has led to hundreds of flight cancellations.
FlightAware reported dozens of delays and hundreds of cancellations throughout Monday.
“I mean, I’ve been trying to get to, like, Philly or D.C., but none of those air flights [leave] until Wednesday or Thursday,” said traveler Kyle Newman.
Fortunately, the number of cancellations has not increased a lot by Monday night, which suggests the airlines are on top of the situation.
Nevertheless, it is still proving to be a headache for travelers impacted by a brutal winter storm sweeping across northern states hundreds of miles away, with feet of snow expected to fall across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
The delays and cancellations have left travelers like Newman scrambling.
“Maybe going to drive or take a bus or something like that, so we’ll see,” he said.
As of Monday night, FlightAware was reporting at least 151 canceled flights at MIA.
Further north, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has not been spared from the chaos. The airport is already clocking at least 208 canceled flights as of 10 p.m.
“I’ve been trying to get to like, Philly, or DC, but there’s no flights until like, Wednesday or Thursday,” said Kyle, who planned to travel to New York earlier in the day. “Maybe gonna drive or take a bus or something like that.”
Other travellers also shared their experiences.
“We’re going to [Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport] and then taking Amtrak, yeah,” said a traveler heading to Boston.
Rosella Simmons and Karen Silverman are having trouble getting to New York from FLL.
“People there that got canceled aren’t going to get a flight until Thursday if they’re lucky,” said Simmons.
“She’s trying to get us on another flight, but there was nothing until Thursday. Now we have to find a hotel,” said Silverman.
Most major airlines, like American, Delta, JetBlue, and United, are waiving fees for changes and cancellations and reminding travelers to check their flight status ahead of time and to be prepared for impacts throughout the week.
A spokesperson for JetBlue wrote:
“JetBlue will temporarily suspend operations at several northeast airports. Customers traveling during this time should expect significant disruptions and cancellations.”
Despite the obstacles, most travelers are trying to find the silver lining.
“We’ll just go get a motel, and we’ll eat that 200 bucks, we’ll rent a car, we’ll eat that 100 bucks,” said traveler Garth Green. “We’ll go eat some food, and we’ll see something in Miami and, well, that’s what we’ll have to do. That’s how we’ll make the best of it.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is also advising travelers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport and to check with their specific carriers to see how they will be handling any impacts from this storm to flights. Many airport carriers plan to resume flights in the Northeast, Tuesday.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.