JetBlue Halts Flights at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark and Boston to Catch Up After Weather Delays

"We regret the impact to our customers," the airline said.

JetBlue has shut down all flights at Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark and Boston airports until Tuesday to catch up after snowy, icy weather caused major delays over the weekend.

The airline said in a statement that it needs to halt service to recover from the backup.

All JetBlue operations at those airports ended by 5 p.m. Monday and will start resuming at 10 a.m. Tuesday, with full service expected to be up and running by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, JetBlue said.

"This plan allows for 17 hours of rest for our equipment and crew members and time to service aircraft," JetBlue said.

"We regret the impact to our customers," the airline said.

JetBlue said planes not being used in the Northeast would be added to other cities where they're most needed Monday.

"This isn't the sort of operation we're happy about," JetBlue said on its website.

JetBlue warned passengers that there are long wait times to speak with agents through its call center. Checking flight status online is recommended. Passengers can also request a refund online.

"I don't know when I'm going to get out of here," said one Philadelphia-bound woman stranded in Boston. "I'll probably be here until tomorrow."

Southwest Airlines Co. also suspended flights at Chicago's Midway Airport around midday and canceled more than 100 of its planned 230 daily departures there. Spokesman Brad Hawkins said that the extreme cold made tasks such as refueling so much longer and more difficult that it the airline couldn't keep its usual schedule.

By late Monday, Southwest had resumed flying at Midway, although Hawkins described the initial activity as "a trickle." The airline's planes are expected to be in position to resume normal operations on Tuesday, he said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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