Hundreds of flights delayed or canceled as weather plays Grinch ahead of Christmas

While much of the nation is snow-free this Christmas, some travelers in Illinois and Colorado have had to change their plans thanks to the weather.

Delays and cancellations at Chicago’s Midway Airport started Saturday evening and have continued through Christmas Eve. A Southwest Airlines spokesperson has stated that dense fog is to blame.

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As of Sunday afternoon, Midway Airport has the most disruptions, with 45 cancellations made today along with 117 delays.

“We stood in line for two hours up by the gate to be told to come down here and talk to baggage claim,” Christmas traveler Sherri Woods told ABC7. “Then we spent another two hours in line to be told to just sit around here and wait.”

Southwest Airlines is also the airline with the most cancellations and delays on Christmas Eve, with 96 flights canceled and 981 flights delayed as of Sunday afternoon.

Beyond Midway Airport, Denver International Airport is also undergoing delays, as 150 flights have been delayed.

When looking at all airports as a whole, a total of 2,524 flights within, into, or out of the United States have been delayed, while 148 have been canceled, according to Flight Aware.

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The holiday hiccups with traveling this year come after Southwest Airlines was hit with a $140 million civil penalty for its December 2022 service disruptions. The airline had canceled nearly 17,000 flights scheduled between Dec. 21 and Dec. 29 due to a winter storm halting operations at major airports, affecting nearly 2 million customers, the Department of Transportation announced Monday.

The fine includes a $35 million payment directly to the government, which will be paid out over three years, and is the largest fine ever imposed by the DOT for violations of consumer protection laws. Southwest has already paid more than $600 million in refunds and reimbursements to affected travelers and is expected to pay $750 million in compensatory damages.