More than 6,000 flights were delayed or canceled across the United States because of Hurricane Hilary, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.
By the morning of Aug. 20, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm, according to CBS News, and became the first tropical storm to hit California in 84 years.
The tropical storm hit the Southwest after making landfall in California on the afternoon of Aug. 20 and was expected to bring a year’s amount of rain to Nevada and Arizona.
Catastrophic flash-flood alerts were announced for mountainous and desert areas, such as Nevada and parts of California, where debris flows and mudslides are a concern.
US Airports Cancel or Delay Thousands of Flights
Airports in the Southwestern United States were the most affected by delays and cancellations, caused by heavy rain and wind in the region.“You have to remember this portion of the country is not used to the amount of rainfall, wind, and possible thunderstorms like the rest of the country could possibly be used to,” the Federal Aviation Administration wrote in a social media post on Aug. 20.
San Diego International Airport saw 252 cancellations that day, representing more than 70 percent of the airport’s flights, according to FlightAware.
The airport reported that 37 percent of departures and 41 percent of arriving flights were canceled in the wake of Hilary.
Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas saw 348 flights in and out of the airport, adding up to more than 40 percent of the airport’s flights, were canceled on the same day.
At least 20 percent of departures and 22 percent of arrivals were canceled, the most of any airport in the country.
Other airports in the Southwestern United States were hit hard with cancellations as the storm reached the area.
Hollywood Burbank Airport, formerly known as Bob Hope Airport, reported cancellations for 41 percent of departures and arrivals.
Orange County’s John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, saw 20 percent of departures and 21 percent of arrivals canceled.
Los Angeles International Airport saw a relatively small number of flight disruptions because of the storm, with just 3 percent of departures and 4 percent of arrivals canceled, with only 11 percent of departures and 10 percent of arrivals delayed.
Southwest Airlines Hardest Hit by Tropical Storm
Business Insider reported that major airlines, including Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, waived passenger fees to change flights that were flying over the weekend, right before the storm hit the U.S. Pacific coast.Southwest Airlines, the largest low-cost airline in the world, canceled the most flights out of any major airline on Aug. 20.
At least 714 flights were canceled by the Dallas, Texas-based airline that day alone, representing about 17 percent of its normal flights.
As of the time of writing, on Aug. 21, FlightAware reported that traffic appeared to be recovering in the United States, with only 1,664 delays and 296 cancellations into or out of the country.
