Winter Storm Elliott is canceling travel plans, and it’s impacting Fresno Yosemite airport
Almost 2,300 flights domestic and international flights across the U.S. were canceled Thursday as freezing temperatures and heavy snow due to Winter Storm Elliott impacted much of the middle and eastern parts of the country, creating ripple effects even at airports in places that aren’t getting hammered by severe winter weather.
At Fresno Yosemite International Airport, the real-time flight tracking website FlightAware recorded four cancellations among flights to or from Fresno, including two that were scheduled to arrive from Denver. Another 22 fights were reported as delayed.
That follows Wednesday’s cancellations of four flights to or from Fresno, plus 16 flight delays. One flight on Friday, from Fresno to Portland, Oregon, has already been canceled, according to FlightAware as of Thursday afternoon.
The intricate ballet orchestrated by airlines of routes originating in one city and coursing through major hubs before reaching a destination on the other side of the country means that Fresno and other western cities that aren’t feeling the effects of the extreme cold can still be afflicted by flight disruptions.
The weather woes and resulting flight cancellations and delays come at one of the busiest travel times of the year as people plan for the Christmas holiday.
Two of the most impacted cities Thursday were Chicago and Denver, no strangers to harsh winter weather. Between Chicago’s two major airports, O’Hare International and Chicago Midway International, 378 scheduled departures were canceled and 324 were delayed as of Thursday afternoon, while 429 inbound flights were canceled and 261 delayed.
In Denver, 264 departing flights and 303 inbound flights were canceled, while 318 departures and 285 arrivals were delayed.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 3:57 PM.
