Blizzard brings travel hell to the US as 10,000 flights grind to a halt and weather correspondent struggles to stay standing: 'This is wild!'
Thousands of Americans are experiencing travel hell as a historic blizzard sweeps the East Coast - while one correspondent struggled to stay standing in fierce winds.
Travelers grew restless as flights out of several major cities including New York, Boston and Philadelphia were grounded or severely delayed as Winter Storm Hernando brought more than 20 inches of snow.
Since Sunday, more than 10,000 flights have been canceled in the US and more than 12,000 were delayed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to FlightAware.
JetBlue issued 451 cancelations on Sunday, 779 on Monday and 388 on Tuesday, equating to 40 percent of all flights. Republic saw a total of 1,894 cancelations and 286 delays, per the flight tracking site.
New York City experienced its first blizzard warning in almost a decade, while a weather reporter who was trying to demonstrate the ferocity of the wind was almost blown off her feet in a video filmed in Massachusetts.
At airports across the country, fury swirled among stranded travelers. One incensed traveler wrote on X: 'JetBlue canceled my flight until Saturday... like what?!?'
Another frustrated customer responded to the airline's advice to change or cancel their flights, writing: 'I haven’t been able to look at or change my seat for the last two to three weeks getting this error message.
'I left the chat open for three hours the other day. Ridiculous.'
Thousands of Americans are experiencing travel hell as a historic blizzard sweeps the East Coast - while one correspondent struggled to stay standing in fierce winds
Since Sunday, more than 10,000 cancelations were made to flights in the US and more than 12,000 delays as of Tuesday afternoon
Travelers grew restless as flights out of major cities including New York City, Boston and Philadelphia were grounded or severely delayed following Winter Storm Hernando
'@JetBlue your customer service never called us back after an overnight wait,' a third passenger said.
'@JetBlue canceled my flight, told me I had to rebook on my own, I rebooked for the earliest they had available I go on the site see a lot of flights going out. But they aren’t giving me the option to book the flight! my kid need to go to school!'
Another angrily wrote on X: '@JetBlue you should change your name to #jetscrew you canceled my 1pm flight to Boston from Aruba yesterday which arrived at 5pm which was way before snow started.
'You can’t get me out of here until 3/3 - nine days later are you serious? Send more planes!'
The Daily Mail has reached out to JetBlue for comment.
Officials warned that disruption to travel may last throughout the week, with the most affected airports including John F Kennedy International airport and LaGuardia in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Reagan in Washington DC.
Airlines have urged travelers to check the status of their flights, with most offering waivers to rebook without penalty due to the inclement weather.
AccuWeather correspondent Ali Reid struggled to keep her balance as Massachusetts saw winds reaching up to 50mph during the historic blizzard battering the East Coast
Fury swirled online among stranded travelers as thousands faced cancelations and delays
On Monday morning, New York City airports had the highest number of cancelations, with around 99 percent axed, according to FlightAware.
Forecasters warned the storm is expected to bring even more snowfall throughout Monday after several major cities were doused with 20 inches of snow.
The weather left one correspondent struggling to stay on her feet as she reported on the weather in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Winds picked up to around 50mph winds, according to AccuWeather correspondent Ali Reid.
'We haven't seen power in town here in a number of hours,' she said, before announcing she needed to break and measure the wind speed.
'46 mile an hour wind gust, and I wouldn't even call that a wind gust. That is straight wind blowing right towards me,' Reid continued.
'I mean it really is just wild. I am going to turn my back just for a second here - I'm not being over dramatic I wanna explain to you the conditions that we are seeing right now.'
Reid then braced against the wind to a near horizontal lean, with the gust holding up most of her weight.
'That is just sick. That is sick conditions guys,' she said.
Reid struggled to maintain her balance as the wind whipped around her, and she held out a hand in front of her as she continued: 'One second, let me get my footing.'
'Wild here,' she said. 'The wind is just pummeling onto my body here.'
Plymouth saw around 28 inches of snow on Monday, and many towns in Massachusetts were hit with around 30 inches of snow.
