By Janet H. Cho
Thanksgiving travelers were hitting a wall of wintry weather disruptions at airports across the country on Sunday, which is projected to be the busiest travel day of the holiday weekend.
As of 2 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, more than 5,600 flights into and out of U.S. airports were delayed and more than 624 were canceled, according to live flight-tracking site FlightAware.com.
More than 250 flights were canceled leaving and arriving at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and 900 flights were delayed. Hundreds of inbound and outbound flights were also delayed at Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, and Detroit Metro Wayne County Airports.
Baltimore/Washington, Ronald Reagan Washington, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Salt Lake City, and Rochester, N.Y., airports were all deicing planes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Austin, Naples, Westchester County, Fort Myers, and Miami-Opa Locka airport were reporting lengthy delays.
The disruptions come after airlines scrambled to update software on thousands of Airbus planes after the jet maker recalled them on Friday, citing solar radiation's potential to interrupt flight controls. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines told Barron's on Saturday that they had completed the work and expected no operational issues, while United Airlines said there wouldn't be an impact to operations on Saturday.
But Sunday's disruptions were the result of a winter storm. The National Weather Service said that the significant storm is blanketing the Midwest through the western Great Lakes with moderate to heavy snow, and accumulations of six to 12 inches, along with gusty winds and hazardous travel conditions.
Airlines for America, an aviation industry group, had projected a record-breaking 31 million passengers to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, between Nov. 21 and Dec. 1. It said U.S. airlines had added 45,000 more seats a day compared with 2024 in anticipation of that demand, including 3.4 million passengers who were projected to fly on Sunday.
Southwest has delayed 956 flights, or 21% of its daily schedule; American Airlines has delayed 680 flights, or 18% of its daily schedule; United Airlines has delayed 523 flights, or 16% of its daily schedule; and Delta Air Lines has delayed 503 flights, or 14% of its schedule.
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2025 14:15 ET (19:15 GMT)
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