Nationwide May 19 storms caused 4,879 flight delays and 674 cancellations

Severe storms that stretched from Texas through the Midwest and into the Northeast disrupted air travel across the United States on Tuesday, May 19, with thousands of flights delayed and hundreds canceled. Flight-tracking figures cited by Travel and Tour World showed 4,879 delays and 674 cancellations for the day, affecting major carriers including Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, SkyWest, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Federal Aviation Administration traffic advisories and airport status notices showed weather-related restrictions at major hubs including Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, New York’s LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy, and Newark Liberty. The result was a day of rolling delays that spread well beyond the cities where storms were strongest. ### Which airports were hit first as the storms moved through? Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was one of the earliest major choke points on May 19. The FAA’s daily air traffic report for Tuesday warned that thunderstorms could slow traffic in Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago, while low clouds could delay flights in Denver. FAA system-status notices later showed a ground stop at DFW from 2:52 p.m. to 4 p.m. PDT and an average ground-delay program of 176 minutes because of thunderstorms. Chicago O’Hare also faced weather restrictions on May 19. FAA notices showed a ground stop at O’Hare from 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. PDT because of thunderstorms, while Dallas Love Field was under a departure delay advisory. New York-area airports were pulled into the same weather pattern later in the day, with ground delays or stops posted for Newark, Kennedy and LaGuardia. ### How broad was the disruption by the end of the day? (faa.gov) Travel and Tour World, citing FlightAware data, reported 4,879 delayed flights and 674 canceled flights across the United States for May 19. The outlet said the affected airlines included Southwest, American, SkyWest, Delta and United, underscoring that the disruption was not confined to one carrier or one region. (nasstatus.faa.gov) FlightAware’s public tracking pages and MiseryMap describe the company’s service as a real-time monitor of U.S. delays and cancellations, and the FAA said its own daily reports are intended to give a planning view of expected impacts to normal air traffic operations. Taken together, those sources showed a weather event that moved through multiple parts of the national system rather than a single-airport outage. That is an inference based on the number of airports under FAA restrictions on May 19 and the nationwide delay totals reported from FlightAware data. (travelandtourworld.com) ### Why did the delays spread beyond the storm zones? The FAA’s National Airspace System status page showed simultaneous constraints at several hub airports on May 19, including DFW, ORD, EWR, JFK and LGA. When those airports slow arrivals or stop departures, airlines must hold aircraft, crews and connecting passengers elsewhere in the network until slots reopen. The FAA notices listed thunderstorm-related ground stops at DFW, ORD, LaGuardia and Philadelphia, plus ground-delay programs at Newark and Kennedy. (flightaware.com) American Airlines, which runs its largest hub at DFW, posted a severe-weather travel alert for Dallas-Fort Worth covering May 19 travel and allowing eligible passengers to rebook through May 21 without a change fee. That waiver reflected the scale of the disruption at one of the country’s busiest connecting airports. ### Where were storms expected to keep causing problems? The FAA said on Wednesday, May 20, that thunderstorms could delay flights across much of the United States, from Boston to Tampa and in Texas and Denver. (nasstatus.faa.gov) AccuWeather also said severe thunderstorms were expected to extend from Texas to New England through late week, with hail, damaging wind gusts and flash flooding possible. The FAA’s May 20 traffic report directed travelers to airline-specific flight information for current conditions, while its system-status dashboard continued to post live airport restrictions. (aa.com.do) Airlines including Southwest, Delta, United and American maintain travel-advisory pages for waivers and rebooking options as the weather system moves east. (southwest.com) (faa.gov)