Flights To Denver disrupted as high winds trigger FAA ground delay
High winds at Denver International Airport forced a Federal Aviation Administration wind-based ground delay early Tuesday, leaving flights to denver held on the ground and pushing average delays to roughly two hours before the restriction expired at 8 p. m.
The ground delay and gusty conditions shuttered normal operations across the hub, with flight-tracking data showing 1, 120 flights delayed and 96 canceled by the end of the day. The swell in disruptions hit a broad mix of carriers: 417 United flights, 326 Southwest flights, 241 SkyWest flights, 49 Frontier flights, 28 Delta flights, 25 American Airlines flights and 11 Key Lime Air flights were delayed, while SkyWest canceled 64 flights, Southwest canceled 25 and United canceled seven.
Flights To Denver: FAA ground delay, average hold times and totals
The Federal Aviation Administration issued the wind-based ground delay early Tuesday morning. The FAA said the program delayed flights by an average of about two hours before the restriction expired at 8 p. m. Flight-tracking software FlightAware provided the tallies of delays and cancellations used throughout the day.
Airlines adjust and some offer flexible rebooking
Air Canada issued travel warnings for several U. S. hubs, including Denver, and provided flexible rebooking options for affected passengers. The airline flagged strong wind concerns at Denver, Las Vegas and San Francisco and said customers could change bookings without penalty for flights impacted by forecasted winds. Separately, the National Weather Service placed Denver under a Red Flag warning that was set to remain in effect until 7 p. m.
How the day unfolded at the airport
Midday tracking showed heavy congestion: a snapshot earlier in the afternoon recorded about 1, 000 delayed flights and 84 cancellations at 3: 40 p. m. as inbound and outbound schedules were pushed back. The delay program affected both arriving and departing flights and stretched operations through much of the day, creating cascading schedule shifts for multiple carriers.
By the close of operations, the largest shares of delayed flights were handled by United and Southwest, while SkyWest led cancellations. The FAA ground delay, the Red Flag warning and broad carrier disruptions combined to concentrate the day’s impact on passengers traveling through Denver and those on connecting itineraries.
The FAA ground delay expired at 8 p. m. Tuesday. Airlines including Air Canada made flexible rebooking available for affected customers all day on February 17 as crews and schedulers worked to clear the backlog and restore normal operations.
