Airlines canceled more than 4,500 flights on Tuesday because of the big winter storm moving through the middle of the U.S.
Flight-tracking service FlightAware.com says the total for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is already more than 7,700.
FlightAware says airports in Newark, N.J., and Chicago are the hardest hit, with more than 600 cancellations in each. Chicago is a hub for United and American airlines, and Continental has a hub in Newark.
In Indianapolis, there are fewer stranded passengers because it is not a connecting hub. But there have been many cancellations.
Ice closed Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for about an hour. It was operating on one runway Tuesday morning.
JetBlue is canceling flights in and out of New York's JFK airport for the rest of Tuesday, with some flights to resume Wednesday afternoon. It plans to shut down its Boston flying Tuesday night through Thursday morning.
4:30 pm update from Indianapolis:
1. The airport's snow and ice crew is still working round-the-clock in 12-hour shifts. Many will sleep at the airport this evening.
2. The airport has one runway and a few key taxiways open. According to our emergency operations plan, we have been using just one runway since about 9 p.m. last evening. The airport can operate and accommodate all aircraft able to arrive and depart IND with one runway. Until all precipitation stops, the airport's snow and ice crew will NOT start treating the other parallel runway, taxiways, and other areas. Right now, all efforts are concentrated on keeping the pavement on Runway 23L as clear as possible.
3. We currently have good supplies of potassium acetate, the primary chemical used to keep the runways clear of snow and ice. Obtaining deicing chemical is not expected to be a problem as long as tanker trucks from outside the city are able to navigate local roadways.
4. A handful of flights departed the city this afternoon. All American, Delta, Continental, and AirTran flights through the rest of the afternoon and evening have been cancelled. All inbound evening FedEx aircraft are expected to be diverted to Memphis.
5. The terminal is very quiet with few travelers stranded or attempting to depart the city. Only one security checkpoint (Checkpoint B) is open.
6. Because IND is a primarily an origination and destination airport (i.e., not a hub for connecting flights), we will not have a high volume of passengers flying into the city today or tomorrow who are connecting through Indianapolis to another destination. As a result, we do not expect large volumes of stranded passengers who cannot complete their journeys.
7. Post-security shops and restaurants on Concourse A were closed by noon today. Everything on Concourse B except for Copper Moon Coffee, Champps, and Relay convenience store is closed.
8. In Civic Plaza, specialty shops, USA Today, and Cafe Patachou closed before noon. McDonalds and Qdoba will be close at 5 p.m. The Indy 500 Grill will close at 9 p.m. TravelMart and Giorgio's will close at 10 p.m. Naked Tchopstix will close at 11 p.m. Starbucks will remain open 24 hours.
9. Tomorrow, all airport restaurants and news/convenience shops will open at regular times. Specialty retail operations will open at 8 a.m.
10. Our generators are ready. The control tower and emergency operations center will be fully powered by back-up generators. Back-up generators will also power the jetways and other essential functions in the terminal.
It will take time for the nation's air system to get back on track after this massive storm. Many flights tomorrow and Thursday will be cancelled or delayed. Passengers should contact their airlines before coming to the airport. Many airlines are offering no fees for passengers who need to rebook flights due to the severe weather. As always, passengers attempting to depart the city as well as those attempting to travel to the airport to greet arriving passengers should check the status of their flights before leaving home.
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