Airport chaos as thousands of flights cancelled

What a weekend of airline chaos in icy North America. 

Airlines cancelled more than 10,000 flights on Sunday due to a winter storm that slammed the north-east of the US. 

The storm brought heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain, the National Weather Service reported. There were also been more than 670,000 power outages reported in the US, travel news hub skift.com reported.

On Sunday, there were 10,519 cancellations and 2,037 delays in the US, website FlightAware reported.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport had the highest numbers of cancelled flights at 556 and 538, respectively.

Out of New York’s JFK Airport, 77% of flights were cancelled and LaGuardia had 91% of its flights cancelled. 

Disruptions were expected to last into Monday with airports in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. most affected. 

In Canada, more than half of the flights at Toronto's Pearson International Airport and close to half at the city's smaller Billy Bishop Airport were cancelled on Sunday.

Major carriers like American, Delta, United, Southwest, and JetBlue were waiving change and cancellation fees, along with fare differences for customers impacted by the storm. 

Southwest warned that additional re-bookings could take time due to the scale of the storm. 

Image: A plane is de-iced at Denver Airport

Nagano has more to offer than snow

The Japanese resort of Nagano is a popular winter destination for skiers and snowboarders but local tourism officials are urging visitors to explore beyond the snowfields and resorts for a better understanding and appreciation of the region and its culture.

The popular destination, about 250km north-west of capital Tokyo, is split into six distinct regions with each having their own characteristics, from the historic sites to the ancient walking trails and natural beauty.

“Despite the surge of holidaying Australians each northern winter, Nagano is truly an all-year-round destination, and we can break new records by urging visitors to stay longer or return after winter during the autumn, spring or summer seasons,” says Helen Wong, Australian representative of the Nagano Tourism Organisation.

“There is so much to see and learn across the prefecture’s regions, whether it be at the dinner table or on a trek along one of the ancient routes.

“Historic sites and breath-taking scenery go hand-in-hand wherever you explore.”

So popular is Nagano with Australians that recent figures released by the Nagano Tourism Organisation show the Aussie market maintaining its spot at No.2 behind Japan’s near neighbours Taiwan for time spent in the prefecture.

Statistics for 2025 (until the end of August) show Australians spending 143,860 bed nights during the period, an increase of more than 28,000 on the previous record-breaking year’s figures and ahead of the People’s Republic of China in third position.



Apart from onsens and large ski resorts, northern Nagano is renowned for its snow monkeys and the iconic Zenkoji Temple.

In Central Nagano, beyond the castle town of Matsumoto, you'll find the wasabi-growing district of Azumino, the Hakuba Valley and the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route.

Each region offers a slice of the "real Japan".    

For more details see https://www.go-nagano.net/en/

Fancy a Christmas trip to visit Santa Claus?

Budget airline Ryanair is promoting winter trips to Lapland as part of its winter schedule for travellers wanting to visit the home of Santa Claus.

Ryanair has unveiled its winter 2025-26 Lapland-Rovaniemi schedule with return flights across three new routes: Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.

Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland and is known for its cold temperatures. 

It is promoted as "a winter wonderland" with tourism offerings including reindeer and huskie sleigh rides through snow-covered forests.

The Arctic Circle crosses Lapland, so polar phenomena such as the midnight sun can be viewed in the region. 

Rovaniemi has staked a claim as Santa's "official hometown" and developed the Santa Claus Village to encourage tourism.

“Christmas has come early for our UK customers with the launch of the Lapland schedule across three new routes, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester,” Ryanair’s director of communications Jade Kirwan said.

“It’s never too early to start Christmas planning.”

Rovaniemi is the main regional centre of Lapland, and the Rovaniemi Airport is the second busiest airport in Finland.

The clean air here is “unbelievable” says a GOTR regular who has visited multiple times. 

The winter Lapland-Rovaniemi flights are available to book now at ryanair.com.

Images: Visit Rovaniemi, Santa Claus Village

Why you should avoid New York State right now

Heading for New York State this week? Maybe wait a few days.

The western part of the state has had early winter snowfalls of up to 1.9 metres and even long-time residents have been amazed by the falls, particularly around the city of Buffalo.

Massive snowdrifts have made driving near impossible - with many major roads closed.

The snowfall was blamed for at least two deaths due to “cardiac events” related to shovelling and moving snow, county officials said, and an estimated 280 people needed to be rescued said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Orchard Park, the home of the Buffalo Bills football team, has 1.9 metres of snow and the Bills were forced to move a home game scheduled for Sunday against the Cleveland Browns to 300+km away in Detroit.

Dozens of flights arriving and departing from Buffalo Niagara International Airport were cancelled as storm conditions worsened, the airport’s website reported.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told CNN that while his city is used to heavy snow, this is “much more than we usually get.”

“This has been a very unpredictable storm with the snow bands moving, back and forth, north to south,” Brown said. “The snow has come down very fast, very wet, very heavy.”

Why you should avoid parts of the US and Canada

Anyone planning a visit to the eastern parts of North America should probably re-think for a day or two. 

 
A major winter storm has blanketed much of the eastern US and Canada with snow and ice, along with high winds causing widespread travel disruptions and power outages, CNN and other news organisations reported. 

Winter weather alerts stretched more than 1,600 kilometres from Alabama to Maine, with Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina all declaring storm emergencies and part of Ontario expecting "the biggest winter storm in several years".

Earlier today, thousands of drivers on Toronto-area highways were stuck in snow. Temperatures for later in the week range from a high of -12 to low of -18. 

Toronto Mayor John Tory said the clean-up effort is likely to last more than three days after the massive snowstorm shut down major highways and hit transport, schools, garbage collection and other services in the Canadian city and across Ontario and parts of Quebec. 

More than 200,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia reported power outages. 

More than 3,000 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled on Sunday, and over 8,000 flights were delayed, according to FlightAware data.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said people should avoid non-essential travel in areas impacted by the storm.

Image: CTV News Toronto