Cathay Pacific cancels flights to New York as winter storm Stella set to barrel through northeast Un

Cathay Pacific Airways has cancelled all flights to New York ahead of a monster snow storm bearing down on the northeast coast of the United States.

The airline said it had scrapped its services to the John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday, affecting three non-stop flights and another daily flight from Vancouver. From New York, three flights were cancelled. Its Boston flights, meanwhile, have been delayed by 24 hours.

Winter snowstorm Stella is expected to dump as much as 24 inches of snow on an area stretching more than 12 states, with major cities from Boston to New York and Philadelphia likely to be hit. Blizzard conditions will see winds with speeds of up to 120km/h, according to the worst estimates from local forecasters.

The US National Weather Service issued a 24-hour blizzard warning from midnight on Monday (noon on Tuesday Hong Kong time) for New York, expanding north into Connecticut and south into New Jersey. New York and New Jersey have declared a state of emergency.

The disruption is causing chaos for millions of residents and travellers. At most, about 2,750 people, based on the number of seats offered daily between New York, Boston and Hong Kong, would be affected by flight disruptions on Tuesday.

Cathay Pacific said rebooking and rerouting fees were waived worldwide regardless of ticket and fare until March 17 for bookings made up until March 15 by customers travelling to or from New York, Boston and Vancouver.

Associated Press, citing airline-tracking website FlightAware, reported that more than 5,000 flights on Tuesday had been axed.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

Cancellations

Hong Kong – New York (March 14): CX830, CX840 and CX846

Hong Kong – Vancouver – New York (March 14): only CX888 journey from Vancouver to New York JFK affected

New York – Hong Kong (March 14): CX841 and CX831

New York – Vancouver – Hong Kong: only CX889 journey from New York JFK to Vancouver affected

New York – Hong Kong (March 15): CX845

Delayed

Hong Kong – Boston (March 14): CX812 delayed for 24 hours and subsequent return flight CX811 delayed

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Cathay cancels all flights to New York as storm hits

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