Spring‑break flight chaos
A major March storm crushed spring‑break schedules—mass cancellations and big delays hit Chicago, Atlanta and New York airports and snarled travel plans on March 17 (travelandtourworld.com). Orlando International (MCO) remained fully open and operating normally early Wednesday March 18, while a Kona storm is disrupting travel to parts of Hawaii—check flight status and local advisories before you go ( ).
Flight trackers reported about 750 U.S. flights canceled and roughly 1,300 delayed as of early March 17, 2026, according to a FlightAware snapshot cited by NBC News. (nbcnews.com) By March 18 some aggregators counted far larger totals — one tracker put cancellations above 4,800 and delays over 12,000 across the storm-affected period. (nomadlawyer.org) The FAA’s March 16 air‑traffic outlook specifically warned of impacts at Chicago (ORD/MDW), Atlanta (ATL) and the New York airport bank (JFK/LGA/EWR), and those hubs logged concentrated cancellations and ground delays. (faa.gov) Major carriers issued travel waivers: Delta opened an Eastern North America weather waiver for March 16–17 with rebooking through March 24, United activated an East Coast thunderstorms waiver for March 16–17, and American published travel‑alert rebooking rules covering March 16–17. (pro.delta.com) Orlando International Airport (MCO) reported normal operations and no active ground delays early on March 18, per the airport’s status and live flight trackers. (ibtimes.com) Hawaii’s Kona low prompted a statewide emergency proclamation by Gov. Josh Green on March 9, 2026, and local reporting documented dozens of flight cancellations and hundreds of delays on Maui and the Island of Hawaiʻi as roads flooded and hotels saw sharp booking drops. (governor.hawaii.gov) TSA staffing strains tied to the partial federal shutdown and peak spring‑break plus March Madness passenger volumes compounded the disruption, with national coverage citing long security lines alongside the weather‑driven ground stops. (nbcnews.com)
