- Major Blizzard Disrupts U.S. Travel: A powerful storm blanketed the Northeast with snow and high winds, causing widespread cancellations and stranding travelers at major airports like Boston Logan, JFK, and Philadelphia.
- Flight Cancellations and Waivers: Approximately 5,000 flights were canceled, with airlines like American, Delta, and Southwest offering change fee waivers and encouraging travelers to rebook for later dates.
- Recovery Will Take Days: Restoring the airport system after thousands of cancellations typically takes around 48 hours, and travelers should plan for potential delays through Wednesday or later.
- Weather Cancellations and Travel Insurance: While airline cancellations require full refunds regulated by the DOT, travel insurance can help cover expenses like hotels, car rentals, or missed tours that airlines don't reimburse.
- What Travelers Should Do Now: If your flight is canceled or delayed, check your airline app, document expenses, and file claims promptly, especially if you have travel insurance, to ensure proper reimbursement.
A powerful blizzard struck the northeastern United States on February 23, 2026, canceling close to 5,000 departures, roughly 20% of all scheduled U.S. flights, and stranding travelers at some of the country’s busiest airports. Nearly two feet of snow fell in parts of New Jersey and Long Island. High winds are expected to continue through Tuesday, with travel conditions described by the National Weather Service as treacherous throughout the corridor from Maryland to Maine.
Boston Logan was running a 69% cancellation rate by mid-morning, the worst single-day disruption at the airport this season. Philadelphia declared a Code Blue weather emergency through February 25, with vehicle restrictions on major Pennsylvania roads making ground access to PHL nearly impossible. JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark all issued ground delay advisories. The storm also severed transatlantic routes, with London Heathrow reporting 32 JFK-bound cancellations and Edinburgh, Dublin, and Manchester also affected.
American, Delta, JetBlue, United, and Southwest all issued change fee waivers ahead of the storm. American’s waiver covers 17 Northeast airports, including BOS, JFK, LGA, EWR, PHL, DCA, and IAD, for travel originally booked through February 25, with rebooking through March 3. Delta extended its waiver through February 27. Southwest is allowing passengers to rebook within two weeks without a fare difference. Under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, travelers whose flights are canceled by the airline, including due to weather, are entitled to a full cash refund to their original payment method if they choose not to rebook.
Recovery will take days, not hours.
An 8,000-flight cancellation event, counting both Sunday and Monday combined, typically takes 48 hours for the airport system to absorb fully. Aircraft are out of position, crews have timed out on duty limits, and gate capacity is simultaneously compressed at every hub. Travelers with flights through Wednesday should treat their itineraries as uncertain. Thursday is a safer target for those with flexibility.
This is also the second major winter disruption of the season. A large storm in Januaryled to widespread cancellations and drew sharp criticism of American Airlines after flight crews were stranded overnight at airports. The back-to-back events are putting fresh pressure on carriers to demonstrate faster recovery times and clearer communication with affected passengers, both areas that drew scrutiny following last January’s meltdown.
Where travel insurance actually helps and where it doesn’t
Weather cancellations sit in a complicated middle ground for travel insurance. When an airline cancels your flight outright, DOT rules already require a full cash refund, no insurance needed for that specific protection. Where travel insurance fills gaps is everywhere the airline’s obligation ends: prepaid hotels and vacation rentals that won’t refund on short notice, nonrefundable tours or excursions at your destination, car rental reservations, and cruise embarkation fees if you miss a departure because of a grounded flight.
Trip delay coverage is particularly relevant in storm scenarios like this one. Most policies begin reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses, meals, additional hotel nights, and transportationafter a delay of 6 to 12 hours, depending on the policy. If you are stuck at an airport tonight because your connection was canceled and you need a hotel room near EWR or BOS, trip delay coverage can offset what can easily run $250 to $400. The best travel insurance policies vary significantly in how quickly delay coverage kicks in and what daily limits apply; details worth comparing before your next trip rather than after one gets canceled.
What to do right now if your flight is canceled or delayed
First, check your airline app or FlightAware before doing anything else; the airline’s automated system may have already rebooked you. If it hasn’t, call the airline directly and assert your DOT right to a cash refund if you don’t want to rebook; you are not required to accept a travel voucher. If you do rebook, target Thursday at the earliest for realistic travel. Document every expense, hotel receipts, meal receipts, and any transportation costs, whether or not you have a travel insurance policy, because some credit cards also carry trip delay coverage that many cardholders never use.
If you have travel insurance, file your delay claim as soon as possible. Most policies require documentation of the delay cause, save any email or push notification from your airline confirming the cancellation. Keep records of every out-of-pocket expense and the corresponding receipts. Understanding exactly what your policy covers before you need it is one of the key advantages of comparing travel insurance costs across multiple providers. Coverage for trip delays, missed connections, and travel interruption varies considerably from plan to plan.
Looking ahead
The storm is expected to clear by Tuesday evening, but airport recovery will stretch into Wednesday at the major Northeast hubs. Check the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center for real-time ground stop and delay program information before heading to the airport. The National Weather Service winter storm warning remains in effect across much of the affected region through Monday evening. Conditions on the ground will determine how quickly operations can resume.
