1,200+ flights delayed, canceled in and out of Reagan National since Monday

Randi Bass
·2 min read

ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — More than 1,200 flights coming into and leaving Reagan National Airport (DCA) have been canceled or delayed since Monday.

As of 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at DCA, 305 flights had been canceled and 269 flights had been delayed, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.

FlightAware also reported 225 flights canceled and 477 flights delayed throughout Monday at DCA.

Rob Yingling of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) said Monday night’s snowy winter weather caused the airport to shut down its runways several times throughout the evening. This, along with plane deicing time and runway clearing, caused a backlog of flights lasting into Tuesday.

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Yingling says DCA’s busiest runway sees around 850 flights coming and going each day. On Monday, around 700 flights were still able to proceed.

Some travelers came back to the airport for a second day after the snow snarled their plans on Monday.

“We sat on the tarmac, on the plane for three hours. Then they told us our flight was canceled,” said Claudia Owens and Gary Hunter, stuck at DCA trying to get from Fort Lauderdale to Boston.

“After two deicings of the wings, and the runway being shutdown, the pilot told us one couple on the plane had an emergency and needed to get off. We went back to the gate and that’s when he told us his shift was over and the flight was canceled,” said Owens.

Hunter and Owens said after all of that, they had more problems trying to get reasonably priced Uber rides from the airport and had trouble finding space at nearby hotels, too.

Their rebooked Tuesday flight from DCA to Boston was also delayed.

Yingling says now that the winter weather has moved out of the region and planes have started flying in and out again, hopefully, the worst is behind them.

He says cancellations and delays could extend into Wednesday and travelers should check in with their airlines before heading to DCA.

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