Thousands of flights canceled today in US and Canada

The severe Arctic winter storm has brought freezing temperatures and devastating winds that damage the powerlines to the United States and Canada, causing power outages that left more than 1,130,000 Americans and 260,000 Canadians in the dark.

About 60% of the US population – roughly 200,000,000 people, and most of Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, have been placed under extreme cold and winter storm advisory.

US National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) has canceled dozens of trains through the holiday, stranding thousands of passengers.

Thousands of flights have been canceled in many major US airports due to extreme weather.

Almost 2,700 flights have been cancelled yesterday, according to a US multi-national flight tracking website.

FlightAware also reports that over 3,900 flights have been canceled as of late Friday morning, creating more chaos for travelers who are struggling to get home for the holidays.

US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered ground stops or delays for de-icing at several US airports due to extreme weather condition.

Southwest Airlines has been affected the most, with almost 800 flights, about 20% of its whole schedule, canceled for the day.

Alaska Airlines canceled 41% of its schedule with 321 flights grounded.

Canadian carrier WestJet has also cancelled all flights at Toronto Pearson International Airport today, blaming the “prolonged and extreme weather events” across Canada.

Many US air carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Alaska Airlines, announced that they are issuing extreme weather travel waivers that would let travelers adjust their trips after the storm passes, allowing them to rebook their flights, affected by the storm, with no penalties.