Airports Near NYC See Massive Delays, Long Queues As 1,600 Flights Cancelled Across US

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at the three major airports serving New York City on Sunday, delivering travelers major headaches as rainstorms and deadly flooding pounded the portions of the Northeast.

1,600 flights cancelled?

More than 1,600 flights were cancelled across the country — with Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia Airports experiencing the most delays and cancellations, according to FlightAware.

Newark had a combined 365 incoming and outgoing flights — about 30% of all its scheduled flights — canned and another 461 delayed, FlightAware data showed. The air travel snafu wasn’t limited to actual plane operations either.

JFK Airport came second for the greatest number of canceled flights after Newark — with a total of 331 cancelations both to and from the airport — and LaGuardia wasn’t far behind with 280 grounded flights, according to flight tracking data.

Plight of the passengers? ??

Passengers are usually told to arrive about two to three hours before their scheduled flights, which meant hundreds of people ended up waiting in terminals after being told they would have to wait."My flight was canceled in Dallas ... It was disaster today," one person said.At JFK, some frustrated travelers were grounded for hours, and even overnight.

"We were delayed, and then we were delayed more, and then we were canceled," Mike Weber said.Weber, stuck in the city one more night, was trying to make plans."Every hotel around here -- and we're rebooked out of LaGuardia -- every hotel around there, they're all full of people just like us," he said.

One traveler coming from Chicago told The Post they were among dozens of passengers who waited for their baggage for more than two hours after landing in Newark. The United customer said only about a third of passengers’ luggage arrived at the baggage claim and the other two-thirds seemed to be missing.

Severe weather disrupted operations

Later, all three airports warned customers to check their flight status before arriving at the airport due to heavy rain and fog in the metro area.Thunderstorms, severe rain and flash flooding affected much of the greater New York area Sunday.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning to parts of Queens and The Bronx in the afternoon. Most areas in New York saw between one and three inches of rain total — with some spots totaling as much as five inches by nightfall.

If you're flying out Monday, you're advised to check in with your airline for your flight status before heading to airport -- and do pack your patience. "That's traveling on airplanes. You have some bad experiences every once in a while, and weather, nothing you can do about it. So yeah, we're OK," one man said.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit?Indiatimes News.