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At least 6,500 flights have been grounded as New York City and much of the north east of the US has been left paralysed ahead of a massive winter storm.
A state of emergency has been declared across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire as Winter Storm Juno is expected to dump as much as 36 inches of snow.
All non-emergency vehicles were banned in New York City from 11pm local time last night and subway services were suspended.
The National Weather Service in the US earlier warned that a “potentially historic blizzard” was approaching the region with the heaviest snow falls expected in the early hours of this morning.
American Airlines, Delta and United were among major US carriers cancelling flights yesterday and today. Delta cancelled 730 flights yesterday and a further 960 today.
Virgin Atlantic urged passengers planning to fly transatlantic to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport due to severe weather across the US east coast.
British Airways warned that some flights to and from the US will be disrupted due to the forecast heavy snow.
“Many flights may need to have de-icing treatment before they are cleared for take off, and this might also lead to some flight delays throughout the day,” BA said.