Winter storm snarls US air travel; nearly 2,600 cancellations

Airlines are cancelling thousands of flights because of snow and freezing rain in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest.

FlightStats says almost 2,600 flights had been cancelled as of 9:30 a.m. Eastern (1330 GMT) Wednesday. That follows almost 2,000 cancellations on Tuesday and another 2,500 on Monday.

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READ MORE: Heavy snow, strong winds hit parts of southern Ontario, Atlantic Canada

Most of the cancelled flights were from the New York-area airports, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington. Regional airline Cape Air alone cancelled more than 200 flights, including nearly every flight planned from airports in Massachusetts.

United Airlines warned that the disruptions will affect flights in the Midwest, including Chicago and Cleveland, too. United and other airlines are allowing passengers to change their tickets without the usual change fees.