LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After a day in which air travel was ground to a halt by ice and snow, flights resumed at Kentucky’s airports Friday.
At 11 a.m. on Friday, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) buzzed with the activity that was largely absent Thursday. The security line was full and a steady stream of travelers filed into the terminals.
The first flights out of the airport left at 10 a.m. after the airport’s early morning flights were canceled.
“By this afternoon, it looks like flight schedules are pretty close to normal; however, that’s always subject to change,” said Natalie Chaudoin, spokesperson for the airport.
Chaudoin encouraged travelers to stay on top of their flight details through their airline, as they are the ones that cancel or delay flights. On Thursday, SDF saw 136 cancellations. By noon Friday, the number stood at 41, according to flight tracking service Flight Aware.
Steve Shaw is among those affected by the cancellations. His flight at 12:30 p.m. Friday to Houston, which included a layover in Dallas, was canceled. He was rescheduled on a flight home at 4:15. Instead of stopping over in Dallas, he’ll change flights in Orlando.
Shaw said the cancellation was a minor inconvenience that was out of everyone’s control. “I’m still on the clock,” he added.
Flights are also picking back up Friday at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, which canceled all of its flights Thursday morning, and at CVG Airport in Northern Kentucky. CVG, which also serves Cincinnati, had 56 cancellations by midday Friday, compared to 211 all of Thursday. The flight status page on the CVG website shows that most of the flights are scheduled to leave after 12:00 p.m. Friday are on time.
“We are open and operational so aircraft are arriving and departing,” CVG Airport spokesperson Mindy Kershner said. She credited the around-the-clock work of the airport’s winter operations team for ensuring that the roads and runways were clear for travelers and airplanes.
While weather is improving the middle of the county, the same storm that hit Kentucky is hammering the east coast. That’s led to a rash of cancellations at airports such as New York City’s Laguardia, which had 381 cancellations by Friday at noon, according to Flight Aware. More than 450 flights have been canceled at Logan International Airport in Boston, compared to just 159 on Thursday.
Chaudoin said travelers from Louisville who are headed East should be ready for possible interruptions. “Weather in one part of the country can have a domino effect on air travel,” she said. “For anyone traveling to the East Coast where the winter weather is heading, we recommend they monitor their flight status as well in case of further changes.”