Thousands Of Passengers Grounded Across Us As American, Delta, United, Southwest, Horizon And More Airlines Cancel 63 Flights And Delay 3500 Causing Nationwide Turmoil And Disrupting Travel In Augusta, Boston, Bar Harbor, Chicago And Beyond

Published on October 22, 2025

Thousands of passengers were near stranded crossed nan United States arsenic bad upwind and a national administrative shutdown triggered wide recreation chaos, starring to 63 formation cancellations and 3,500 delays nationwide. Major airlines including American, Delta, United, Southwest, and Horizon struggled to support schedules arsenic terrible storms swept done cardinal aviation corridors, grounding craft and disrupting operations successful awesome cities specified arsenic Augusta, Boston, Bar Harbor, and Chicago, causing hours-long delays and disorder for travellers from seashore to coast.

A activity of recreation disruption swept crossed nan United States yesterday arsenic airlines cancelled 63 flights and delayed astir 3,500, leaving thousands of passengers stranded from seashore to coast. A operation of terrible upwind and a national administrative shutdown crippled aerial operations, transforming airports into waiting zones filled pinch frustration, exhaustion, and uncertainty.

Nationwide Disruptions Bring Air Travel to a Halt

It started arsenic a emblematic greeting unreserved astatine awesome airports, but by midday, chaos dispersed done terminals arsenic delays piled up 1 aft another.
Flights from Boston to San Francisco and Seattle to Washington D.C. were either stuck connected tarmacs aliases endlessly rescheduled.

• Boston Logan International (BOS): 7 cancellations and 84–135 delays, affecting up to 21% of flights.
• Chicago O’Hare (ORD): 5–6 cancellations, 235–246 delays, 1 of nan highest nationwide astatine 18%.
• Newark Liberty (EWR): 3–6 cancellations, 70–118 delays, adjacent to 20% of operations affected.
• John F. Kennedy (JFK): 2–3 cancellations, 65–87 delays, mostly long-haul connections deed hardest.
• LaGuardia (LGA): 3 cancellations and 54 delays, astir 9% of flights disrupted.
• Houston Bush (IAH): 1 cancellation and astir 98 delays, upwind slowing confederate routes.
• San Francisco (SFO): 1–2 cancellations, 82 delays, astir 15% affected.
• Seattle-Tacoma (SEA): 1 cancellation and 90 delays, astir 15% disrupted.
• Denver International (DEN): 1 cancellation and 92 delays, ripple effects reaching connecting hubs.
• Washington Dulles (IAD): 2 cancellations and 36 delays, insignificant yet wide impacts.
• Reagan National (DCA): 2 cancellations, 63–84 delays, 21% of regular flights delayed.

By precocious afternoon, nan domino effect reached smaller cities including Augusta, Bar Harbor, and Owls Head, wherever location carriers had to crushed flights owed to cascading schedule backlogs.

Travellers Endure Long Waits and Missed Connections

Airports turned into makeshift hotels for thousands of stranded passengers. Many waited for hours, watching formation screens flicker from “delayed” to “rebooked.”
Families missed connecting flights, business travellers mislaid full workdays, and immoderate visitors were near without accommodation options.

• In Boston, travellers faced delays of up to 5 hours arsenic thunderstorms disrupted departure schedules.
• Chicago O’Hare became a bottleneck for connecting flights crossed nan Midwest, affecting routes to Detroit, Minneapolis, and St. Louis.
• Newark passengers endured repeated boarding calls and cancellations, while those successful Houston reported delays caused by constricted aerial postulation clearance.

Frustration rippled crossed societal media, pinch travellers posting photos of packed terminals and agelong rebooking queues.

Airlines Scramble to Recover

Every awesome hose was affected, and operations spiralled into delays crossed aggregate states.

• United Airlines reported 21 cancellations and 436 delays — nan highest cancellation count.
• American Airlines faced six cancellations and 424 delays.
• Delta Air Lines had six cancellations and 299 delays, galore tied to tight craft rotations.
• Southwest Airlines reported 3 cancellations and 484 delays — nan astir formation delays among each carriers.
• SkyWest Airlines dealt pinch 3 cancellations and 371 delays, impacting smaller airports.
• Envoy Air faced 1 cancellation and 113 delays.
• Horizon Air knowledgeable 1 cancellation and 18 delays, chiefly successful nan Pacific Northwest.

Most airlines announced plans to resume normal operations wrong 24 hours but warned that delays could proceed into nan adjacent time owed to craft repositioning and unit remainder requirements.

What Caused nan Breakdown

Two awesome factors crippled aerial recreation crossed nan nation: upwind and nan national administrative shutdown.
Thunderstorms and mediocre visibility deed nan Northeast and Midwest, forcing crushed stops and way changes. Simultaneously, nan shutdown caused staffing shortages among aerial postulation controllers and national inspectors, reducing formation clearances and slowing coordination betwixt airports.

Without afloat national staffing, moreover insignificant upwind disruptions quickly escalated into nationwide chaos. The FAA’s reduced operational travel meant craft spacing increased, starring to bottlenecks and less takeoffs per hour.

The Scene Inside Airports

By evening, airports resembled crowded autobus stations. Passengers stretched crossed floors, lines astatine nutrient counters grew long, and vexation mounted arsenic updates trickled successful slowly.
In Newark, passengers waiting for rebooking stood successful lines stretching crossed terminals. In San Francisco, immoderate travellers slept adjacent charging stations, clutching carry-ons and half-eaten sandwiches.

Airport unit and formation crews worked overtime to negociate increasing crowds. Many airlines distributed repast vouchers and edifice coupons, but readiness quickly ran retired arsenic nan nighttime wore on.

Airlines are cautiously optimistic astir betterment wrong nan adjacent 36 hours, though upwind forecasts propose continued instability successful parts of nan Midwest and Northeast. Industry observers pass that if nan national administrative shutdown persists, these disruptions could go much frequent.

Thousands of passengers were grounded crossed nan United States aft bad upwind and a national administrative shutdown caused wide chaos, forcing airlines for illustration American, Delta, United, Southwest, and Horizon to cancel 63 flights and hold much than 3,500 nationwide.

Experts besides raised concerns astir upcoming vacation travel, predicting moreover greater chaos if staffing levels stay strained and upwind conditions worsen.