Major U.S. airlines, including American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Spirit and several regional partners, are facing a fresh wave of disruption as at least 113 flights were cancelled across key hubs on Monday, January 19, 2026.

Airports in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta reported clusters of grounded services, rippling out to dozens of domestic and international destinations and creating a difficult start to the week for thousands of travelers.

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New Wave of Cancellations Hits Key U.S. Hubs

The latest disruption comes as aviation networks remain under pressure from winter weather, lingering staffing constraints and tightly wound schedules. Data compiled from major flight-tracking platforms and industry reports on Monday indicated that at least 113 departures were cancelled nationwide, with a disproportionate number affecting flights into and out of Miami International Airport, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Chicago O’Hare, and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines again accounted for a significant share of the cancellations, reflecting their dominance at the biggest hubs. JetBlue and Spirit, whose business models rely heavily on dense leisure routes along the East Coast and between the U.S. and Latin America, also saw disruptions on city pairs connecting Florida, the Northeast corridor and the Caribbean.

According to a fresh analysis published on January 19, the 113 cancellations spanned both domestic and international routes, touching cities as far-flung as São Paulo, London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Auckland and Honolulu, alongside an array of U.S. regional airports. The pattern underscored how quickly operational troubles at a few high-volume hubs can cascade through the wider network, affecting passengers who may never set foot in the hardest-hit cities.

Beyond the outright cancellations, hundreds more flights were delayed, prompting rolling gate changes, missed connections and extended time on airport floors for holidaymakers, business travelers and diaspora communities heading to or returning from Latin America, Europe and the Pacific.

Miami’s Fog Disruption Continues to Echo Nationwide

Miami International Airport has been a focal point of the latest operational strain, following a dense fog event that triggered a Federal Aviation Administration ground stop for all incoming flights on Wednesday, January 14. The FAA ordered the halt around 8:30 a.m. local time, citing “low ceilings” and sharply reduced visibility as clouds hovered just a few hundred feet above the ground. Arrivals into the busy South Florida hub were temporarily frozen while departures from airports across the country were held at their origin.

The restriction, lifted roughly an hour later, immediately led to a backlog of aircraft in need of new slots, crew duty-time adjustments and gate reassignments. Local media and flight-tracking data indicated more than 140 delays and several cancellations in Miami alone by midafternoon that day, with American and Delta among the most affected operators.

Although normal operations officially resumed on January 14, the aftershocks of the ground stop have lingered into the following days, particularly for tightly scheduled connections from Miami to Latin American and Caribbean destinations. Monday’s fresh tally of 113 cancellations across the U.S. includes flights that were either residual knock-ons from that earlier disruption or part of broader schedule reshaping as carriers attempt to stabilize their networks.

For travelers who depend on Miami as a primary gateway for work assignments or family visits in the region, the combination of fog-induced delays, reduced flexibility on some routes and heavy January demand has meant longer connection times, more frequent rebookings and, in some cases, last-minute overnights in South Florida hotels.

Chicago, New York and Los Angeles Face Secondary Shockwaves

While Miami’s weather event has drawn particular attention, Monday’s cancellations were widely dispersed. Chicago O’Hare, long a bellwether for nationwide performance, experienced a cluster of grounded flights as winter systems passing over the Midwest constrained capacity and forced airlines to thin schedules. Chicago’s status as a central transfer point for United and American meant any reductions reverberated into secondary markets across the Plains, Rockies and West Coast.

In New York, John F. Kennedy International Airport saw both domestic and long-haul routes affected. Transatlantic services to cities such as London and Paris, as well as flights to South America and the Caribbean, were among those cancelled or retimed. The disruptions coincided with broader network changes already being made for the winter season, including temporary suspensions of some American Airlines transatlantic routes out of JFK and other hubs, complicating passenger options on days when irregular operations hit.

Los Angeles International Airport, a key Pacific gateway, also reported cancellations tied to the nationwide total. Connections to Honolulu, Auckland and several major U.S. cities were impacted, illustrating how fragile long-haul schedules can become when feed from domestic hubs is disrupted. For travelers moving between Asia-Pacific and North America, a single cancellation at a hub like Los Angeles or a missed inbound connection from a city such as Chicago or Atlanta can mean a 24-hour delay to their final destination.

Together, these hubs form the backbone of the U.S. aviation system. When more than a hundred flights are pulled from the schedule in a single day, the disruption spreads rapidly to medium-size airports that depend on them for onward connectivity, leaving passengers in places like Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Orlando, Seattle and San Diego contending with delays or last-minute itinerary changes.

Airlines Struggle With Weather, Crews and Tight Winter Schedules

The U.S. airline system enters each winter with limited slack, and 2026 has been no exception. Operational experts point to a convergence of factors behind the latest wave of cancellations: low-visibility weather events in Florida, the seasonal uptick in storms across the Midwest and Northeast, and persistent staffing and scheduling pressures in both cockpit and cabin crews as well as in air traffic control.

While the FAA has worked to address chronic staffing shortages at key facilities, controller availability remains a constraint at some high-volume centers, and capacity restrictions are sometimes imposed when conditions deteriorate. Such measures can force airlines to trim flights or accept long holding patterns and ground delays, which then feed into crew duty-time limitations. Once crews bump up against mandatory rest requirements, carriers may be forced to cancel later departures even after the original weather or congestion trigger has eased.

Airlines are also managing evolving route maps and seasonal shifts in demand. American has recently paused several transatlantic services from major hubs for the winter period, while Delta is preparing to end certain long-haul domestic routes and adjust its Alaska operations. These schedule changes are not inherently disruptive but reduce flexibility when irregular operations strike, as there are fewer alternative flight options on certain city pairs compared with peak summer months.

Carriers insist they are working to build in more resilience, including by stationing additional aircraft and crews at key hubs and improving real-time communication with travelers. However, the events of recent weeks show that when multiple stressors hit simultaneously, from dense fog in Miami to winter systems around Chicago and operational incidents at other airports, the knock-on effect can still be dramatic.

Passengers Report Long Queues, Missed Connections and Opaque Communication

Across social media and local news interviews, passengers affected by the latest cancellations described a familiar tableau: crowded departure halls, long lines at customer service desks, and hurried attempts to rebook flights via mobile apps before limited seats disappeared. Many travelers reported waiting an hour or more for information after learning their flights had been delayed or cancelled, particularly during the January 14 Miami ground stop and subsequent rolling disruptions.

Families traveling with children, elderly passengers and those on tight schedules for events or work commitments described having to scramble for last-minute hotel rooms or rental cars, sometimes at significantly higher prices due to sudden spikes in demand around affected airports. Others found themselves re-routed through unfamiliar hubs or arriving at alternative airports far from their original destination, adding ground transport challenges on top of disrupted air itineraries.

For international travelers, missed connections can be particularly costly. A cancelled link in Miami, New York or Los Angeles may mean not just an overnight delay but complications with visa timing, missed tours or cruises, and difficulties coordinating with local hosts abroad. Travel agencies and corporate travel managers have reported a rise in urgent calls from clients seeking emergency itinerary changes as flight cancellations continue to flare up without much warning.

Although many travelers acknowledged that safety must come first when low visibility or mechanical issues are involved, frustration has focused on inconsistent communication, with some passengers saying they received text alerts and app notifications only minutes before scheduled boarding or after they had already reached the gate.

Recent Operational Incidents Highlight System Vulnerability

The 113 cancellations tied to the latest wave of disruption are part of a broader pattern of stress across the aviation system. Just hours before Monday’s updated figures emerged, dramatic footage circulated online showing a United Airlines flight from Chicago O’Hare experiencing a mechanical problem on landing at Orlando International Airport. The aircraft appeared to lurch forward before a component believed to be part of the nose gear separated and rolled across the runway. No injuries were reported, but the incident prompted a brief ground stop and additional delays at Orlando as crews inspected the runway and removed the aircraft.

Such events are relatively rare compared with day-to-day weather delays, yet they highlight how a single aircraft issue at a busy field can temporarily halt operations and compound an already fragile schedule. Combined with staffing pressures and high utilization of fleets, even a localized incident can ripple across networks as aircraft and crews are pulled from subsequent rotations.

Industry analysts note that the U.S. system has weathered even more serious disruptions over the past several years, including large-scale IT outages, severe winter storms and pandemic-era staffing shortages. While operations have generally improved, the margin for error remains thin, particularly in peak travel periods or when conditions deteriorate in multiple regions simultaneously.

The current mix of dense fog events in Florida, routine winter weather in the Midwest and Northeast, and a handful of high-profile mechanical and operational incidents has created what some observers describe as a rolling test of the sector’s resilience in early 2026.

What Travelers Should Expect in the Coming Days

With winter weather far from over and aviation schedules still tightly calibrated, travelers using major U.S. hubs in the coming days should prepare for continued pockets of disruption, even if Monday’s 113 cancellations prove to be a short-lived spike. Airlines often need several days to fully rebalance aircraft and crew positioning after weather or ground stops, and follow-on cancellations can occur as carriers make tactical decisions to prioritize certain routes or time bands.

Airports most likely to feel residual impacts include Miami, New York area airports, Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Orlando, along with other major hubs that depend heavily on connections to those cities. Passengers booked on early-morning departures or tight connections should pay particular attention to status updates and consider allowing additional time for security, boarding and possible re-screening after missed flights.

U.S. Department of Transportation rules generally entitle passengers to a refund if their flight is cancelled or significantly changed and they choose not to travel. However, compensation policies for hotels, meals and alternative arrangements vary by airline and often hinge on whether the disruption is deemed to be within the carrier’s control. Weather-related cancellations or air traffic control restrictions are frequently classified as outside airline responsibility, limiting the level of assistance offered beyond rebooking on the next available flight.

For now, industry observers say the new wave of cancellations serves as a reminder that, despite robust demand and strong booking trends early in 2026, the U.S. air travel system remains vulnerable to sudden shocks. Whether triggered by dense fog over Miami, winter systems over Chicago, or localized incidents at outstations, a relatively small number of problem flights can quickly add up to triple-digit cancellations and a great deal of uncertainty for travelers on both sides of the jet bridge.