Winter storm to obstruct flights across US this weekend

A severe winter storm is expected to dump snow and ice across a large swath of the United States this weekend, causing carriers to preemptively begin canceling flights. Meteorologists say the storm will dump heavy snow and ice from Texas to the Northeast U.S. from tonight through Jan. 25, hitting thirty-four states. [caption id="attachment_57148135" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] DFW works to clear snow and de-ice aircraft during a January 2025 winter storm. (Courtesy/DFW)[/caption] Ahead of the storm, nearly 600 flights within, into or exiting the U.S. have been canceled today, as of 5:30 p.m., according to flight-tracker FlightAware. That figure is drastically higher for the weekend, with more than 2,700 flights already canceled for Jan. 24 and more than 2,500 for Jan. 25. It is unclear what percentage of canceled flights are freighter flights or how much bellyhold capacity will be lost due to cancellations. FedEx is closely monitoring the winter storms moving across the United States and has contingency plans in place to keep its team members safe and help lessen any impact on service, the integrator told Cargo Facts . FedEx did not specify its contingency plans. Storm to hit top cargo airports The storm will hit nine U.S. airports ranked among the top 50 cargo airports based on 2024 tonnage, according to Airports Council International: Memphis (MEM), ranked third with 3.8 million tonnes; Louisville (SDF), ranked fifth with 3.2 million tonnes; Chicago (ORD), ranked 13th with 2.1 million tonnes; Cincinnati (CVG), ranked 20th with 1.7 million tonnes; New York (JFK), ranked 22nd with 1.6 million tonnes; Indianapolis (IND), ranked 30th with 907,868 tonnes; Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), ranked 42nd with 742,516 tonnes; Newark (EWR), ranked 47th with 680,645 tonnes; and Atlanta (ATL) ranked 49th with 645,834 tonnes. More than 600 flights scheduled to depart from DFW on Jan. 24 have already been canceled, according to FlightAware. Carriers cancel flights United Cargo issued an alert that disruptions may continue through Jan. 26, spurred by delays to trucking services to and from affected airports. The carrier said it will place temporary restrictions on narrowbody cargo and mail at ORD and Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) today and Jan. 24; the alert did not detail those restrictions and United Cargo did not respond to a request for clarification. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have also warned customers that they expect to see many delayed and canceled flights in affected areas. American has canceled nearly 800 flights on Jan. 24, according to FlightAware. Delta has canceled more than 100 and United has canceled nearly 100. Cargo Facts will present four invaluable events for airfreight professionals in the first half of 2026, starting with Cargo Facts LATAM, on Feb. 10-12. To see the agendas and register for the events, visit CargoFactsEvents.com .

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