Airlines canceled more than 1,000 incoming and outgoing flights at Denver International Airport on Thursday because of a heavy snowstorm and as the COVID-19 already disrupts travel, according to airline officials and FlightAware.
Of the total 1,074 cancellations, Southwest Airlines has canceled the most flights at 358, or 83% of all their Thursday scheduled flights.
“The cancellations are 100 percent caused by the storm,” Ro Hawthorne, Southwest spokesman, said. The airline is offering customers flexible accommodations, Hawthorne said.
Other airlines also experienced triple-digit flight cancellations at DIA.
SkyWest Airlines canceled 276 flights or 74% of all its Thursday flights, and United Airlines has nixed 184 flights or 43% of their total, FlightAware said. Trans States Airlines canceled 111 flights, which is 67% of their scheduled flights.
United officials could not be reached Thursday, but a company news release on Tuesday said United is aggressively cutting flights because of the COVID-19 outbreak, a corresponding drop in travel demand and government mandates or restrictions.
Between 4 to 10 inches of snow is expected to fall in the Denver metro area Thursday and Friday, the National Weather Service in Boulder said.
