The lingering effects of Hurricane Irene in the Northeast is causing lingering flight delays at Denver International Airport this evening.
Seventy-seven flights were canceled today: 37 departures and 40 arrivals, an airport spokesman said.
“We don’t anticipate that a large number of travelers will spend the night in the airport this weekend,” DIA spokesman Jeff Green said in an e-mail to reporters. “There are plenty of rooms available around the Metro area and the hurricane warnings have been far enough in advance that many folks have likely altered their travel plans.”
Flight cancellations for Monday had not been determined as of 5:20 p.m. and none were expected this evening, he said.
Green warned that the storm’s effect on airlines’ operations could result in longer-than-normal lines at DIA Monday.
DIA officials urged those traveling to the East Coast to check with their airlines before going to the airport and give themselves extra time to catch their flights.
East Coast airports are preparing for the storm to move into Canadian airspace by Monday morning.
Philadelphia International Airport opened this afternoon, while JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports remained closed Sunday.
JFK and Newark airports are expected to reopen at 4 a.m. Denver time for arrivals and 8 a.m. Denver time for departures.
LaGuardia is expected to open at 5 a.m. Denver time for arrivals and departures.
“Even though the east coast airports will be fully open by early tomorrow morning, it is still possible that we will continue to see some flight cancellations here in Denver,” Green said.
“It will be entirely up to the airline to determine their flight schedule. Even though weather will improve on the East Coast by morning, the airlines have to get their aircraft back into position and begin dealing with the backlog created by two days of canceled flights.”
