Hurricane Sandy has left travelers grounded with thousands of flights canceled. The Associated Press reported that major airlines such as American, Delta and jetBlue have canceled all flights into and out of New York airports and the AP reported that nearly 7,500 flights have been canceled due to the storm.
"Both Philadelphia International Airport and Newark International Airport, a hub for United Airlines, each had more than 1,200 cancellations for the two days," reported the AP.
USA Today reported that on Wednesday morning flight cancellations were at 19.000. FlightAware.com said that the total reached 19,500 by 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, USA Today reported that already 2,801 flights have been canceled according to FlightAware and 500 are already scheduled to cancel on Thursday.
The AP reported that flights affected traelers in cities such as Chicago and San Francisco and disrupted flights abroad that were flying into New York and other affected areas.
The loss for airlines and airports is mammoth. Simon Calder, travel editor of the UK's The Independent newspaper said to CNN, "Every day this goes on you're seeing combined losses to the airlines of roughly $10 million. The cost is actually much worse for European airlines like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, because they have to pay for accommodation and meals for their customers who are stuck in the U.S. -- particularly in New York."
Calder told CNN that the European Union has a law which includes "duty of care" to stranded passengers which means they have to cover them for their costs while the U.S has no such law.
"Delta and United can just say, 'Sorry, this is a weather event and you're not covered,'" Calder said to CNN.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
