Extreme winter weather conditions in the Midwest prompted warnings about frost bite and hypothermia and cancelled more than 1,000 flights.
With historic wind chills, parts of the Midwest were forecasted to experience colder weather temperatures than Siberia, Antarctica and Mount Everest. The extreme lows in the temperature caused the United States Postal Service to cancel mail delivery services for 10 states and flights across the Midwest were canceled or delayed.
Midway International Airport
At Chicago's Midway International Airport, 305 flights were canceled on Wednesday, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. Fortunately, for those flights that were departing the airport, the delay was less than 15 minutes. A 15-minute delay time or less was also reported for incoming flights.
Southwest Airlines issued a travel advisory for customers who had plans to fly into or out of airports within the path of Winter Storm Jayden. The advisory warned that flights at Midway could be delayed, diverted or canceled from Sunday, January 27, through Friday. Ticket holders were able to rebook their travel date for another date within 14 days of their original travel for no additional charge.
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago is also home to O'Hare International Airport, which had even more cancellations than Midway. The Chicago Department of Aviation reported on Wednesday morning there were 1,166 flights that were canceled.
Frontier Airlines customers who purchased their ticket on or before Monday and were scheduled to fly in, out or through O'Hare between Tuesday and Friday were given the option to make an itinerary change because of the weather. Several restrictions were waived for the changes, although travel had to be completed before February 13. Customers whose flights were canceled were permitted to request a refund.
Customers scheduled to travel to, through or from O'Hare on American Airlines were given the option to change their itinerary without paying a change fee. To be eligible for the no-cost change, flights had to be booked by January 25 and set to fly between Sunday and Thursday.
United Airlines customers who were traveling to, from or through O'Hare between Sunday and Friday were permitted to change their flight without paying a change fee or a difference in fare. However, the updated travel had to be in the same class, between the same cities and be departing on or before February 4.
Gerald R. Ford International Airport
Many flights out of Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were canceled on Wednesday. Of the 55 flights listed on the airport's website, 17 were canceled, ranging in departure times from 8:54 a.m. EST to 11:25 p.m. EST.
Eleven of the flights were destined for Chicago. Other destinations included Ft. Meyers, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Florida, and Philadelphia.
Southwest's travel advisory warned customers that flights going to or from Grand Rapids could be delayed, canceled or diverted from Sunday through Wednesday. Those with tickets for the affected dates were permitted to change the dates free of charge.
General Mitchell International Airport
Travelers at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also felt the effects of the drastic drop in temperature. Of the 94 flights listed on the airport's website, 22 were listed as being canceled. Flights destined for Chicago had the most flights canceled, with nine cancellations. Other destination cities included Baltimore, Cleveland, Ft. Myers, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, Phoenix, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.
Southwest warned travelers going through Milwaukee between Sunday and Friday that their flights could be delayed, diverted or canceled. Ticket holders were able to change their travel dates without paying a fee, as long as it was done so within 14 days of the original travel dates.
Frontier also issued a travel advisory for Milwaukee and those traveling between Tuesday and Friday were able to make one itinerary change for free, as long as the ticket was booked before Monday and travel is completed before February 13.
Uncommon Knowledge
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