Storm Hernando forces flight cancellations at Manchester and other UK airports
storm hernando has forced widespread disruption to transatlantic services, with cancellations at several UK airports and major delays tied to a severe winter storm battering the US east coast on Monday, February 23. The interruptions have affected flights to and from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester Airport, Edinburgh Airport and Dublin Airport.
Flights cancelled at Manchester, Heathrow and beyond
On Monday, February 23, 32 flights departing London Heathrow for JFK were cancelled, and inbound services from the US destination were also grounded. Three direct flights from Manchester were affected, and 35 flights departing Edinburgh had the second leg of their journey cancelled. Flights serving JFK in New York, Newark in New Jersey and Boston were among those impacted.
Storm Hernando batters US northeast
The same storm driving UK cancellations has slammed the US north-east. Millions of people in New York City and a large swathe of the north-east were under road travel bans and blizzard warnings on Monday as heavy snow and high winds hit the region. Snow fell at a rate of more than two inches an hour on Monday from New York through to Massachusetts, and some areas recorded more than a foot of snow since Sunday with wind gusts of more than 30mph and sharply reduced visibility.
Airport-level cancellation tallies
Flight tracking data put cancellations in and out of the United States at more than 5, 000 for Monday, with most cancellations concentrated in New York, New Jersey and Boston. In the UK and Ireland, Dublin Airport posted on X: "Due to adverse weather (Storm Hernando) on the east coast of the US, airlines have cancelled a number of flights due to operate to/from Dublin Airport on Monday. " Dublin Airport confirmed that carriers had axed seven departing and six arriving flights thus far due to the storm.
Local travel bans, heavy snowfall and outages
Mobile phones across New York City received alerts on Sunday night announcing a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets through to noon on Monday because of "dangerous blizzard conditions. " Rhode Island and New Jersey implemented similar restrictions. Long Island MacArthur Airport reported 20 inches of snow as of Monday morning, while Freehold in New Jersey had 19 inches.
Storm-related power outages plunged more than 500, 000 customers into darkness along the east coast on Monday, including more than 212, 000 customers in Massachusetts and 128, 000 customers in New Jersey, PowerOutage. us. Emergencies were declared in New York, Philadelphia and other cities, and in several states stretching from Delaware to Massachusetts.
Warnings from the weather service and passenger guidance
The National Weather Service warned: "A major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow, strong winds, and coastal flooding across the Mid-Atlantic and north-east that may cause impossible travel conditions and power outages. " The weather service also called travel conditions "nearly impossible" and said the combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds would continue to produce blizzard conditions along the north-eastern seaboard. The weather service referred to the system as a "classic bomb cyclone, " and a bomb cyclone is defined as when a storm drops at least 24 millibars in pressure in 24 hours.
Travellers have been urged to get in touch with their airlines for the most recent information and to check the status of specific flights and connections on Monday, February 23.
What passengers should expect next
Airlines and airports are updating schedules in response to ongoing conditions. The travel bans in parts of the north-east run through to noon on Monday, and passengers affected by cancellations on February 23 have been advised to contact their carriers for rebooking and further instructions.
