Volume Also Snags Travel Plans For Many

It seems anymore, it just wouldn't be a holiday without reports of cancelled flights... though admittedly, there's little the airlines can do about it. A Midwest snowstorm that dumped several inches of snow led airlines to delay or scrap hundreds of flights this weekend, and the problems continued through Monday.

According to the FAA, weather continued to cause ground holds Monday for traffic inbound to ORD, as snow continued to fall with no apparent end in sight. And that was bad news for most major carriers... including Chicago-based United Airlines, which is already reeling from snow-related travel snags that affected its Denver hub last week.

The Washington Post reports United canceled around 270 arrivals and departures at ORD this weekend -- about 20 percent of its flights. American Airlines followed suit, scrubbing some 220 flights through O'Hare.

"We are trying accommodate as many customers as we can," said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy. "We are proactively canceling flights to minimize the impact to our customers."

A bit down the road, the weather also snagged operations at Midway -- with Southwest canceling 37 flights Sunday through the airport.

While it's little consolation to air travelers, at least things are better for airline operations than at this time last week, when close to 50 percent of all flights arrived late, or were cancelled, at the nation's 35 busiest airports. The resulting domino effect lasted through the week, as passengers returning from visiting their families often spent hours waiting at the airport for their planes to arrive.

Faced with new weather snags this week, some travelers may want to ask airports to stock up on champagne... as it looks like they may be spending New Year's Eve there.

FMI: www.fly.faa.gov