A Delta Airbus A320 plane takes off from the airport Ronald Reagan Washington, D.C. in Arlington, Virginia, as smoke from Canada’s forest fires blankets the world.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Smoke from wildfires in Canada disrupted flights within the eastern United States again on Thursday after a whole bunch of planes were delayed the day before as a consequence of reduced visibility, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The FAA will likely have to take steps to securely manage the flow of traffic into New York City, [Washington] DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte [North Carolina] as a consequence of reduced visibility attributable to smoke from the fires.
The FAA briefly halted inbound traffic to Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday.
Hundreds of flights to and from New York’s LaGuardia Airport and nearby Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed Wednesday as a consequence of heavy smoke. The FAA briefly brought traffic to LaGuardia to an entire halt through the day.
As of Thursday evening, greater than 4,200 flights to, from and throughout the United States had been delayed FlightAware flight tracking.
More than 280 flights to LaGuardia, nearly half of the day by day schedule, were delayed as of 6:40 p.m. EST on Thursday, and one other 161 departures were delayed, FlightAware data showed.
At Newark, 129 departures were delayed, or 19% of the schedule, and 143 flights to New Jersey Airport were delayed, or a few fifth of the overall.
american airlines and United Airlines said yes waiving change fees AND tariff differences for travelers affected by air quality issues within the region in the event that they can fly before next Wednesday.
