Airline schedules have been thrown into chaos as the east coast of the US braces for the impact of Hurricane Sandy, with the “super storm” expected to hit the mainland tonight (local time).
It is unclear how many flights have been cancelled but as many as 7000 are reported to have been grounded.
Although emergency measures have been put in place in preparation for the hurricane, which has already claimed 65 lives in the Caribbean, President Barack Obama urged caution.
“This hasn’t hit landfall yet so we don’t yet know where it’s going to hit, where we’re going to see the biggest impacts and that’s exactly why it’s so important for us to respond big and respond fast as local information starts coming in,” he said.
While the full weight of the storm is yet to be felt, gale force winds were already hammering parts of Virginia and North Carolina last night.
As a result, a number of airlines that serve airports in the region have suspended scheduled services, putting measures in place to minimise disruptions.
Hawaiian Airlines confirmed that, at the request of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, it has cancelled scheduled services between Honolulu and New York City until tomorrow.
Provided the storm clears as forecast, it will operate an additional round trip to NYC departing Honolulu on Tuesday afternoon to accommodate all passengers affected by the cancellations.
Severe weather forecasts also prompted United Airlines to suspend its services to mid-Atlantic and northeast airports from Sunday evening. Weather permitting, operations will resume on Tuesday with some exceptions.
Singapore Airlines and Delta have also grounded all scheduled flights into and out of New York over the next two days.
