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Hundreds of travelers remain stranded across Florida as the fallout from a historic Northeast blizzard triggers at least 40 cancellations and more than 600 delays on JetBlue, Spirit, Endeavor Air, American Airlines and other carriers, disrupting flights at Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach and other key gateways.
Blizzard in Northeast Ripples Into the Sunshine State
The powerful winter storm that buried much of the Northeast over the weekend and into Monday continues to paralyze air travel across the United States, with its impact now acutely felt in Florida. The system, tied to Winter Storm Hernando, has produced one of the most disruptive aviation events of the season, with more than 7,000 flights canceled nationwide since Monday and thousands more delayed as airlines struggle to restore schedules.
Although Florida escaped the heaviest snow, the state’s airports are seeing the knock-on effects. Flight tracking data show that by Tuesday and into Wednesday, Florida facilities collectively logged hundreds of cancellations and delays on routes linking the state to major hubs such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, where blizzard conditions brought operations to a standstill.
Carriers with dense networks in the Northeast, including JetBlue, American Airlines, Spirit and regional operator Endeavor Air, have been particularly affected. With aircraft and crews stranded out of position and airport operations constrained by snow and high winds farther north, Florida departures and arrivals have been repeatedly pushed back or scrubbed altogether.
Hundreds of Travelers Stuck in Orlando and South Florida Hubs
At Orlando International Airport, one of the country’s busiest leisure gateways, passengers bound for New York City, Boston and other East Coast destinations faced long lines and limited options as cancellation boards filled up. By Tuesday afternoon, Orlando was among the Florida airports reporting the highest number of weather linked disruptions, as connections to storm battered hubs struggled to restart.
South Florida has been hit even harder. Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport together registered hundreds of cancellations and delays across Monday and Tuesday as blizzard conditions in the Northeast closed runways and forced airlines to ground significant portions of their fleets. Local television crews at both airports reported families sleeping in terminal chairs, students returning from winter break trips, and business travelers rebooking multiple times as their flights vanished from departure boards.
At Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, travelers on JetBlue and Spirit flights to Atlantic City, Newark and other mid Atlantic cities faced rolling disruptions, compounding earlier staffing related issues at some carriers. Smaller airports along Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Fort Myers and Sarasota, also reported dozens of cancellations tied directly to the Northeast storm, underscoring how far the blizzard’s reach has extended.
JetBlue, Spirit, Endeavor Air and American Lead Disruptions
Data compiled from major Florida airports and national trackers indicate that JetBlue and American Airlines are among the hardest hit operators, reflecting their large presence in both the Northeast and Florida. JetBlue, with major operations at New York’s JFK and LaGuardia as well as Boston Logan and Fort Lauderdale, has canceled or delayed scores of flights into and out of the state as it works through a multi day recovery.
Spirit Airlines, which maintains a dominant position at Fort Lauderdale and a strong presence at Orlando and other Florida airports, is facing a dual challenge. The carrier has had recent staffing constraints and is now contending with aircraft stranded at snowbound airports. Travelers on popular sun routes to and from cities such as Newark, Philadelphia and Boston have reported repeated cancellations, missed connections and limited rebooking choices.
Regional operators, including Endeavor Air, which flies many routes under the Delta Connection brand, are also heavily affected. With regional jets crucial for feeding passengers into larger hubs, disruptions on those services have cascaded into mainline networks, leaving Florida bound fliers with few alternatives. American Airlines, which serves Miami as a major international hub and operates extensive Northeast routes, has also resorted to canceling flights preemptively as it waits for conditions and airport capacity to normalize.
Passengers Face Long Waits, Full Flights and Limited Options
For stranded travelers, the human impact has been immediate and frustrating. At Miami and Fort Lauderdale, passengers described nights in airport hotels or on terminal floors as they watched one rebooked itinerary after another fall apart. Many trying to return to New York, New Jersey and New England after vacations in South Florida were told the earliest available seats could be days away due to full flights and limited spare capacity once operations resume.
Families traveling with children, cruise passengers racing to connect to international flights and business travelers with time sensitive meetings have all been affected. Many reported that call centers were overwhelmed and that the fastest way to secure a new seat was via airline mobile apps or by speaking directly with gate and ticket counter agents. Even then, available options often involved multi stop routings through uncongested hubs or lengthy layovers.
With the blizzard classified as a severe weather event, standard U.S. policies mean airlines are generally not required to provide hotel rooms or meal vouchers, except when they choose to do so voluntarily. Travelers have been urged by consumer advocates to keep receipts for out of pocket expenses and to review their credit card and travel insurance coverage, which in some cases may offer compensation for extended delays and cancellations.
Recovery Efforts Underway but Disruptions to Persist
Airlines began cautiously rebuilding schedules on Tuesday and Wednesday as conditions in the Northeast slowly improved. Crews worked to de ice aircraft, clear taxiways and runways and reposition planes that had been trapped at closed airports. However, the scale of the disruption has meant that recovery will take several days, with residual delays and scattered cancellations likely through the rest of the week.
At Florida airports, officials have advised passengers to arrive early, expect longer than usual lines at check in and security, and to remain flexible with travel plans. Many airlines have issued travel waivers that allow customers heading to or through affected regions to rebook without change fees, provided they travel within specified windows or remain in the same cabin of service.
Aviation analysts note that the storm has exposed ongoing vulnerabilities in the U.S. air travel system, particularly when severe weather strikes dense corridors such as the Northeast at peak travel periods. With Florida serving as a primary winter escape for travelers from those regions, disruptions ricocheting between snowbound northern cities and sunlit southern gateways are likely to remain a recurring feature of blizzard season.