Air travel hit as snow storm batters US east coast

New York's John F Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, and New Jersey's Newark airport were affected

Air India (AI) has cancelled two of its three non-stop flights to the US, with a blizzard hitting the country’s eastern coast. A state of emergency has been declared in the north-east states.

New York’s John F Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, and New Jersey’s Newark airport have been affected, with airlines cancelling thousands of flights.

AI operates non-stop flights from India to New York, Newark and Chicago. Jet Airways operates a one-stop flight to Newark (via Brussels).

While AI cancelled its flights to New York and Newark on Tuesday, Jet rescheduled departure of its Brussels-Newark flight by eight hours. United’s direct flights from Newark to Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, too, were cancelled.

According to AI sources, the affected passengers have been allowed to re-book on alternative dates or take the flight to Chicago without penalty. The spill-over of stranded passengers will continue till Friday as flight occupancy is about 80 per cent, sources added.

Only 10 per cent of passenger traffic between India and the US flies on direct non-stop flights. The rest take flights through hubs in the Gulf and Europe. In terms of passenger traffic, Emirates, AI and British Airways (BA)are the top airlines between India and the US.

Etihad Airways has said it is monitoring  weather conditions closely and has contingency plans, in the event of further disruption. The airline was forced to cancel one of its Abu Dhabi-New York flights.

“We are doing everything we can to minimise any disruption and offer customers alternative travel plans,” said a BA spokesperson.

Vacationers and business travellers faced headaches as airlines cancelled 2,700 US flights, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. New York authorities also said "virtually all" flights at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday will be canceled and cancellations at John F. Kennedy International Airport will be "significant."

BLIZZARD BLUES
A blizzard is sweeping across the northeastern US, dropping over 30 cm of snow but falling short of more dire predictions that sent workers and students home, halted thousands of flights and prompted New York officials to ban cars from roads and shut subway trains. Some facts about the winter storm or nor'easter:

The storm is dubbed 'Juno'
FORECAST

• National Weather Service had predicted it could dump up to 3 feet of snow across 7 states in the US northeast

CAUSES

• Monster storms occur when cold air from land collides with warmer, moisture-laden off-shore air
• Global warming is causing the jet stream in the upper atmosphere to shift; this could slow down storms, giving them more time to drop rain or snow at one place

EFFECTS

• The Insurance Information Institute estimated winter storms accounted for 15% of US catastrophe losses in 2014

Recent severe storms in New York, according to city and federal records

• New York City’s biggest snowfall on record hit on February 11, 2006, and lasted through the following day. Measurements taken from Central Park showed the two-day Nor’easter dumped 26.9 inches of snow on the city, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights at LaGuardia and John F Kennedy airports, halting Long Island Railroad service and causing heavy subway delays. No fatalities reported
• 77 people died in the northeast in the second largest snowstorm seen by New York, on December 26-27, 1947. The blizzard recorded 25.8 inches of snow, paralyzing the city by halting subway service and burying cars and buses on the streets
• The third heaviest snow accumulations in the city hit late in the winter of 1888 and brought 21 inches of snow on March 12-14
• A February 25-26, 2010, blizzard brought 20.9 inches of snow
• The city’s fifth largest snowstorm, recording 20.2 inches of snow on January 7-8, 1996, caused schools to shutter, Broadway performances to cancel and the New York Stock Exchange to close early. The blizzard caused dozens of fatalities and $1 billion in damage from Washington to Boston

Source: Reuters