Thirty-four departing flights – and 41 arriving flights – were canceled at Buffalo Niagara International Airport as of 4:30 today, with many other flights delayed for an hour or more, thanks to the “polar vortex” storm wreaking havoc across the Midwest and Northeast.
The cancellations include flights that weren’t scheduled to take off until late this afternoon, including flights to warm-weather destinations such as Tampa and Orlando, as well as flights scheduled to arrive well into the evening. The flight cancellation data came from the FlightStats website.
The airport’s own website shows numerous flights eventually took off after lengthy delays, including a Southwest Airlines flight to Tampa scheduled to leave at 8:45 a.m. that didn’t depart until 4:01 p.m. – more than seven hours later.
Doug Hartmayer, a spokesman for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, said the airlines made preemptive decisions to cancel some flights because they want to have their network of planes well-positioned for the travel period after the storm passes.
“This allows them to maximize their service,” he said.
Anyone traveling, or planning to pick up a returning traveler, from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is urged to view the flight schedule at www.buffaloairport.com.
email: swatson@buffnews.com
The cancellations include flights that weren’t scheduled to take off until late this afternoon, including flights to warm-weather destinations such as Tampa and Orlando, as well as flights scheduled to arrive well into the evening. The flight cancellation data came from the FlightStats website.
The airport’s own website shows numerous flights eventually took off after lengthy delays, including a Southwest Airlines flight to Tampa scheduled to leave at 8:45 a.m. that didn’t depart until 4:01 p.m. – more than seven hours later.
Doug Hartmayer, a spokesman for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, said the airlines made preemptive decisions to cancel some flights because they want to have their network of planes well-positioned for the travel period after the storm passes.
“This allows them to maximize their service,” he said.
Anyone traveling, or planning to pick up a returning traveler, from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is urged to view the flight schedule at www.buffaloairport.com.
email: swatson@buffnews.com