Airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights in and out of New York's three biggest airports (JFK, EWR, & LGA) on Tuesday after a deluge of rain hit the city, causing major flooding and mangling operations at the major airports. And with more rainy weather expected in the region, delays and cancellations are cascading into Tuesday as well.
On Monday, LaGuardia (LGA) had the most inbound and outbound cancellations with 395, followed by Newark's (EWR) 367 and JFK's 239, according to data from FlightAware. By Monday night, the three New York City airports accounted for nearly half of the total cancellations nationwide. Other airports on the eastern seaboard also saw issues, with Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National (DCA), Philadelphia (PHL), and Boston (BOS) all recording triple-digit cancellations, too.
Due to its heavy presence at Newark, United saw the brunt of the pain yesterday. The airline and its subsidiary Republic cancelled 631 total flights, about 34% of all flights cancelled nationwide. American and subsidiary PSA Airlines cancelled 456 flights, and Delta and subsidiary Endeavor cancelled 308 nationwide, too.
As if all the cancellations weren't bad enough, many flights at Newark sat on the ground for hours trying to take off (and after landing) before crews eventually timed out and needed to return to the gate. With ground staff unable to safely work outside due to potential lightning strikes, passengers were left trapped on these flights to nowhere.
For example, United flight 1814 bound for Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), boarded on time and tried to beat the storms, but instead sat on the ground for more than seven hours before finally getting back to a gate.
Not sure I have this one right:
“UA1814
7 hours on ground at Newark
never took off , still on plane, cancelled
can't find a gate to deplane”https://t.co/1EJJR4H8NB— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) July 15, 2025
To help avoid further chaos, United has issued a severe weather travel waiver, allowing travelers to change their flights to (or from) New York. So long as the new flight departs before July 18, travelers won't get hit with any change fees or fare differences. As of Tuesday morning, American and Delta had not yet issued waivers of their own.
Read Next: How to Survive (or Avoid) Flight Delays and Cancellations
Summertime in New York City's major airports often leads to delays and cancellations simply out of congestion. Newark's woes earlier this year have continued, albeit less dramatically, throughout the peak summer months. But this time around, some unusually heavy rainfall is to blame for the delays and cancellations. According to the National Weather Service, more than 2 inches of rain fell in the span of one hour at New York's Central Park last night.
LaGuardia saw over an inch in the same timeframe, along with heavy rain, fog, and mist, the Weather Service says. Meanwhile, Newark saw a more prolonged rain event of close to two inches of rain over the course of a few hours last night while JFK got about an inch of rain in an hour, too.
As of 9 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, 164 flights departing from or arriving to Newark had already been axed with 81 already being delayed, signaling that travelers heading through the United hub might experience more problems Tuesday as the rain continues. Similarly 69 flights in and out of LaGuardia have been cancelled and 50 more were delayed. JFK has seen way fewer cancellations with just 37 total, but way more delays with 142 total as of Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service is warning of more rain and thunderstorms every day, through the weekend, as the airlines try to right the ship at their New York hubs. Make sure you know all the tips and tricks to surviving (or avoiding) flight delays and cancellations before you head to the airport if you're flying through the East Coast over the next few days.
This is a developing story.
