On February 23, 2026, LaGuardia Airport in New York City, U.S., is hit by a winter storm, and the departure board displays information about canceled flights.
Shannon Stapleton Reuter
A powerful snowstorm brought ground air travel to a near standstill Monday at major airports serving New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and other parts of the eastern United States. The disruption is expected to last until at least Tuesday, with carriers once again testing how quickly they can recover at the end of the winter break.
Much of the East Coast, from Maryland to Maine, is under a blizzard warning, with parts of New Jersey and Long Island, New York, already receiving heavy snow totals of nearly 2 feet. The National Weather Service said the strong winds are expected to continue throughout the day. The NWS warned that the snowstorm will reduce visibility and make travel dangerous.
As of 9:40 a.m. ET, more than 4,800 flights, or nearly 20%, scheduled to depart the U.S. on Monday had been canceled, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Cancellations per day are typically about 1% of that day’s schedule. Nearly a quarter of international inbound flights have also been cancelled.
More than 1,000 flights to and from New York’s LaGuardia Airport were canceled on Monday, about 98% of the day’s schedule. More than 90% of flights at Boston Logan International Airport and 80% of flights at Philadelphia International Airport and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport were also grounded.
Flight disruptions are expected to continue Tuesday, with about 40% of flights canceled at LaGuardia Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and about the same number in Boston, according to FlightAware.
Airlines routinely cancel flights before major storms to avoid knocking aircraft and crews out of position and to make it easier to resume operations after the storm passes.
A man sleeps on the ground next to his luggage in Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport in New York on February 22, 2026.
Charlie Tribalew | AFP | Getty Images
american airlines, delta airlines, jet blue airlinesSpirit Airlines, united airlines Passengers who are able to travel by February 26 will have their fees and fare differences waived. southwest airlines It said customers are eligible for a change without paying the fare difference if they can rebook the flight or flight standby within two weeks.
A winter storm that hit much of the East Coast in January, followed by bitter cold, caused massive travel disruptions across large swathes of the United States.
American Airlines struggled to get back on its feet, facing harsh criticism from its flight attendants, some of whom were stranded and had to sleep at the airport, and tensions between front-line workers and the airline’s CEO, Robert Isom, rising.
The storm cost American Airlines between $150 million and $200 million in lost revenue, the airline said on an earnings call last month.
