The two-day winter storm has ended in the northeast, but the effort to dig out from the snow is still going strong. Some flights to the region from Austin are still being canceled and the Wall Street Journal reports that it could take days to clear the backlog of travelers.
Several factors stood to delay a full resumption of flights, including the need to plow gates and get airport staff and flight crews back in place. …. US Airways Group Inc. said it hoped to rebook all its canceled customers in three days. JetBlue Airways Corp. said it was looking at up to five days to get its passengers to their destinations. A spokeswoman said it had canceled all its flights into and out of New York on Monday "to position aircraft and crews for tomorrow's [Tuesday's] recovery." The airline was investigating adding extra planes on the most heavily booked routes to get back on schedule sooner.
At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the following flights are currently listed as canceled.
- American flight 684 to New York-JFK at 10 a.m.
- Continental flight 251 to New York-Newark at 10:43 a.m.
- JetBlue 1062 New York-JFK at 1:10 p.m.
Continental flight 351 to New York-Newark at 2:40 p.m. is still scheduled to depart on time, signaling hope that flights to that area could resume today. You can check flight delays across the country at FlightStats.com.
KUT News went out to the airport yesterday and talked to some passengers, including one Austinite who had a flight booked to NYC on Sunday, but was told the earliest his airline could get him there was Thursday.
http://media.kut.org/sounds/news_00023613/web_Bernier_Airport_Travel.mp3
Meanwhile, local forecasters are tallying the snowfall amounts in the region, the New York Times reports.
The National Weather Service said the biggest snow accumulations in the area were in New Jersey, with 32 inches in Rahway, 31.8 inches in Elizabeth, 29 in Lyndhurst and 25 in many parts of the state. In New York City, 20 inches fell in Central Park, 24 in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and 22 in Bedford Park, the Bronx. In Orange County, N.Y., Tuxedo Park and Harriman had 26 inches.
Here's some great video of the storm's aftermath in New York City, courtesy of our public radio brethren at WNYC.
