Thousands of air travelers across the United States are facing extended waits, missed connections and scrapped trips as a fresh wave of disruptions ripples through the domestic network. On Saturday, January 17, major carriers including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and Alaska Airlines reported at least 86 cancellations and more than 2,850 delays nationwide, hitting passengers in New York, Miami, San Diego, Seattle, Augusta, Sacramento and a long list of other cities.

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Weather Systems and Congested Hubs Trigger New Round of Disruptions

The latest operational turbulence is being driven by a mix of winter weather, saturated schedules and knock-on effects from earlier storms that have stretched airline and airport resources through mid-January. Airlines entered this weekend still recovering from powerful winter systems that have repeatedly swept through the Midwest, Northeast and Pacific Northwest since the start of the month, disrupting aircraft positioning and crew rotations.

In the Northeast, snow, freezing rain and low visibility have required periodic ground delays and deicing operations at New York area airports, slowing the rate at which flights can arrive and depart. Similar conditions have affected parts of New England and the upper Midwest, placing extra strain on hub airports that funnel traffic nationwide. Even when storms clear, lingering congestion in the system can lead to rolling delays, leaving aircraft and crews out of place for subsequent departures.

On the West Coast, bouts of heavy rain and low cloud ceilings in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest have periodically reduced arrival rates into Seattle and Sacramento, while winter rain events have lowered operating margins in Southern California. In many cases, the conditions are safe for flying, but air traffic controllers are forced to meter the flow of arrivals and departures, producing a stack of delayed flights that reverberates across the country.

New York, Miami and San Diego Among the Hardest-Hit Airports

Among the most affected passengers on January 17 were those traveling through major coastal gateways. New York’s airports have again emerged as disruption hotspots this winter. LaGuardia and Newark Liberty have both seen waves of departure and arrival delays as snow bursts and icy taxiways require additional time between movements. Earlier winter weather events have left these airports with some of the highest delay rates in the country, contributing to today’s strained operations.

Miami International Airport, a critical link between the continental United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, has also reported persistent departure delays. High passenger volumes typical of the winter tourism season, combined with traffic management initiatives for flights heading through congested airspace corridors, are stretching capacity. Even relatively modest weather issues, such as thunderstorms building over South Florida or neighboring states, can force temporary reroutes and slowdowns that cascade into widespread late departures.

On the West Coast, San Diego International has joined the list of trouble spots. The airport’s single-runway configuration leaves little room for recovery when weather or traffic constraints emerge. Forecasts of reduced visibility or low marine-layer ceilings mean arrivals must be spaced farther apart, creating queues both in the air and on the ground. As delays lengthen in San Diego, connections through larger hubs in Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco are also affected, amplifying the impact on passengers who never pass through Southern California themselves.

Seattle, Sacramento and Secondary Cities See Knock-On Effects

Farther north, Seattle-Tacoma International has experienced significant operational pressure as a succession of winter systems brings a mix of rain, low clouds and periodic snow. As a major hub for Alaska Airlines and a key base for Delta, the airport plays a central role in connecting the Pacific Northwest to the rest of the country and to Asia. When arrival and departure rates are reduced in Seattle, banks of connecting flights across the network can be thrown off schedule within hours.

Sacramento, which has been no stranger to weather-related delays this season, has again seen disruptions ripple through its schedule. As a mid-sized airport, it depends heavily on regional feeder flights operated by carriers like SkyWest, as well as mainline services from Delta, United, Alaska and others. When those regional operations face delays or cancellations because of conditions at larger hubs such as Denver, Salt Lake City or Seattle, Sacramento’s options for re-accommodating passengers are more limited, intensifying the impact on individual travelers.

Passengers in smaller and secondary cities such as Augusta and other regional markets are grappling with similar challenges. Many of these airports are served primarily by regional jets on tight schedules that depend on precise aircraft rotations. A delay or cancellation upstream often leaves no spare aircraft or crew to plug the gap. As a result, travelers in these communities can face disproportionate disruption from a single missed inbound flight, particularly late in the day.

Delta, United, SkyWest and Alaska Record High Delay Counts

While the total number of outright cancellations on January 17 has remained under 100 flights, the volume of delays has soared into the thousands, underscoring where the brunt of the pain lies for travelers. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, two of the largest network carriers in the United States, have reported hundreds of delayed departures as they navigate weather restrictions, deicing requirements and traffic management initiatives.

SkyWest Airlines, which operates regional services for Delta, United, American and Alaska, is once again a central player in the disruption narrative. Serving dozens of small and mid-sized communities that feed into major hubs, the carrier’s operations are highly sensitive to delays at those hubs. When flights into Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Seattle or Los Angeles are slowed or held, SkyWest’s downstream departures are often forced to wait for inbound aircraft or available crews, compounding delays throughout the day.

Alaska Airlines, with heavy exposure to the weather-prone Pacific Northwest and Alaska region, has also seen a high number of late departures relative to cancellations. In recent weeks the carrier, together with its regional partner Horizon Air, has been regularly listed among airlines seeing elevated delay levels when winter systems converge on their core markets. For passengers, long waits at the gate or on the tarmac remain far more common than outright scrapped flights, but the cumulative effect of hours-long delays can be just as disruptive to travel plans.

How Today’s Disruptions Fit Into a Broader Season of Turbulence

The current episode of 86 cancellations and 2,854 delays slots into a broader pattern of operational stress that has characterized the 2025 to 2026 winter travel season. Earlier this week, U.S. carriers collectively logged well over 3,000 delays in a single day as snow and freezing temperatures hit major hubs in Chicago, Denver, Dallas and Washington, while last month saw multiple days with more than 5,000 delays and over 100 cancellations as winter storms rolled across the Rockies and Plains.

Industry analysts note that while severe winter weather is a perennial challenge, the system has been running with relatively little resilience, leaving airlines vulnerable to cascading disruptions. Aircraft utilization levels remain high and spare capacity limited, which maximizes efficiency in good conditions but reduces the margin for recovery when storms strike. Staffing imbalances, especially among regional carriers and ground handling crews, can also magnify the effect of weather or air traffic control constraints.

In addition, persistent congestion at key hubs and coastal airports such as New York, Miami, San Diego and Dallas has kept delay rates elevated even on days with cooperative weather. Recent analyses of airport performance show that facilities like Newark and San Diego are among the U.S. airports with the highest projected rates of delays and cancellations. That structural vulnerability becomes more acute in winter months, when any reduction in runway capacity caused by snow, ice or low visibility has an outsized impact on on-time performance.

What This Means for Travelers in Impacted Cities

For passengers caught up in this latest disruption wave, the immediate reality is a familiar litany: longer lines at security and customer service counters, crowded gate areas and scrambling for scarce seats on later flights. Travelers in New York and Miami, where connections to international services are common, face particular risk of missed long-haul departures, which can mean overnight stays rather than same-day rebookings.

In West Coast cities like San Diego and Seattle, where airlines operate tightly timed bank structures to feed cross-country and transpacific flights, a one or two hour delay in an early bank can cascade into missed connections throughout the day. Passengers bound for smaller markets such as Augusta or interior Northwest communities often discover that their options are limited to just one or two departures per day, making it more difficult to recover from even a single missed flight.

Travel advisers suggest that passengers with flexible itineraries departing from heavily impacted airports consider rebooking for early morning flights, which historically have better on-time performance and face fewer knock-on delays. They also note that keeping checked baggage to a minimum can improve the chances of being quickly rebooked, as airlines may be more willing to shift passengers who can move between flights without requiring baggage rerouting.

How Airlines Are Responding and What Rights Passengers Have

Airlines affected by the disruptions are waiving certain change fees and fare differences for travelers who opt to move their trips to alternative dates or flights, particularly when weather advisories or travel alerts are in place for specific regions. Delta, United, Alaska and regional partners including SkyWest have been issuing rolling advisories this winter as storms enter the forecast, allowing passengers to rebook proactively before conditions deteriorate.

When delays and cancellations do occur, carriers have been working to re-accommodate travelers on the next available departures, sometimes on partner airlines when interline agreements permit. However, full flights and tight winter schedules limit the availability of spare seats, especially on peak days such as Fridays and Sundays. Travelers in smaller markets may find that the only open seats are on flights days later, prompting some to seek alternative modes of transport for at least part of their journeys.

Consumer advocates emphasize that passengers have certain baseline protections when schedules unravel. In general, if a flight is cancelled and a passenger chooses not to travel, they are entitled to a refund of the unused portion of their ticket, even on nonrefundable fares. Rules around compensation for delays and amenities such as meal or hotel vouchers vary by carrier and by whether the cause is within the airline’s control. Many travelers are turning to the Department of Transportation’s airline service dashboards and individual carrier customer service commitments to understand what they can reasonably expect.

Preparing for Continued Volatility in the Weeks Ahead

As January progresses, airlines, airports and travelers alike are bracing for the likelihood that today’s disruptions will not be the last significant event of the winter season. Forecasts remain active for additional cold fronts and snowfall in the Northeast and Midwest, while the Pacific Northwest and Northern California are expected to see more rounds of heavy rain and low ceilings that can snarl airport operations.

Frequent flyers and travel planners are adjusting strategies accordingly. Many are building longer connection times into itineraries that pass through delay-prone hubs, opting for mid-day flights over evening departures that leave less room for recovery, and monitoring forecasts closely in the 48 hours leading up to their trips. Business travelers, in particular, are increasingly incorporating virtual meeting contingencies when critical in-person sessions are scheduled during peak storm windows.

For now, the 86 cancellations and 2,854 delays recorded on January 17 stand as another reminder of the fragile balance underpinning the U.S. air travel system in winter. For passengers departing New York, Miami, San Diego, Seattle, Sacramento, Augusta and scores of other affected cities, today’s experience has been one of patience tested and plans disrupted, with the hope that the remainder of the season brings fewer surprises in the skies.