A blizzard that affected a large swath of northeastern Colorado on Tuesday disrupted hundreds of flights at Denver International Airport.
Some parts of northeastern Colorado remain under blizzard warnings until early Wednesday, with forecasters warning that travel could be hazardous.
The Denver airport was under a brief ground stop due to the weather at around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, according to The Denver Post, though it was later lifted. The newspaper said airport officials had expected Tuesday to be one of the busiest travel days of the Christmas period.
More than 750 flights in and out of the airport were delayed on Tuesday, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. Southwest flights accounted for more than a third of the delays.
At least 292 Southwest flights were delayed on Tuesday,—47 percent of the airline's traffic in Denver, its busiest hub. United Airlines had 218 flights in and out of Denver delayed, while Skywest, a United Airlines partner, had 115 flights delayed.
The airport also saw 29 flights canceled on Tuesday. SkyWest accounted for 23 of the cancelations. United had three canceled flights and Southwest had one.
Early Wednesday morning, departing airport traffic was experiencing gate holds and taxi delays lasting 15 minutes or less, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Arriving flights are also experiencing airborne delays of 15 minutes as well.
Four flights have been cancelled at Denver airport so far on Wednesday. And another 15 flights have been delayed—seven of them Southwest flights.
A Southwest spokesperson told Newsweek on Tuesday that the airline did not anticipate "significant disruptions" following numerous delays and cancellations over the weekend and on Christmas Day.
"We continue to have all-hands on deck as our Employees work to safely take care of our Customers during this busy holiday travel season," the spokesperson said via email.
Newsweek has contacted the airline and Denver International Airport for further comment via email.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a $140 million penalty against Southwest over the operational debacle that canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over Christmas in 2022.
In a news release, the department said an investigation found the airline violated consumer protection laws by failing to provide adequate customer service assistance, prompt flight status notifications and refunds in a prompt manner.
The penalty "sets a new precedent and sends a clear message: if airlines fail their passengers, we will use the full extent of our authority to hold them accountable," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
