Thousands of US flights disrupted as winter storm looms

Thousands of flights across the US have been cancelled or delayed as the North East braces for a severe winter storm during the peak holiday travel season.

As of Friday afternoon, nearly 1,500 flights across the US had been cancelled and 5,400 had been delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

The most affected airports are John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty, and LaGuardia, which serve the New York area. Philadelphia, Detroit, and Toronto, Canada, also are impacted.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning from 16:00 local time on Friday through 13:00 on Saturday, with as much as 9 inches (23cm) of snow expected in New York and southern Connecticut.

So far, JetBlue Airways has cancelled 227 flights, and Delta Air Lines is cancelling 213. Republic and Southwest have cancelled 157 and 146 flights, respectively. Approximately 100 flights by American and United also are not flying today.