Air travel thawing out; airlines resume NY flights

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Air travel in the New York area is getting back to normal after the second major storm in little more than a week.

United Airlines and American Airlines say they resumed flights at New York airports Thursday afternoon.

Major airlines scratched about 600 flights around the U.S. Thursday, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. The majority of those were in the New York area, although airports in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere are affected.

All airlines are encouraging travelers to check on the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

A nor'easter with a mix of rain and snow caused white-out conditions and forced airlines to cancel 1,600 flights Wednesday. United and American suspended operations in the region. Other airlines canceled a handful of flights.

By comparison, Superstorm Sandy caused more than 20,000 flight cancellations last week, making it the second-most disruptive storm in the last seven years.