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Snow causes delays, cancellations at DCA

DCA saw more cancellations than any other major airport in the country.

ARLINGTON, Va. — As snow dumped all over the region, travelers had the added headache of dealing with flight delays and cancellations.

One of the best examples of what kind of problem passengers experienced is from our own colleague Casey Nolen.

He posted how the pilot of his plane had to land in Philadelphia without some sort of announcement to passengers.

According to FlightAware, there were 225 cancellations and 476 delays at Reagan National on Monday.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, there were 275 cancellations and 210 delays. That's the most out of any airports in the country.

Transportation officials say as with any day after a storm, airlines are still dealing with the effects as they try to catch up.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said crews at DCA only closed the runway three times to clear snow and ice for about 30 minutes yesterday.

Because of winter weather, airlines, which are responsible for operating the gates and deicing planes, struggled to keep up.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop and lifted it at National on Tuesday morning. It appears there were a lot of arrivals but not enough gates.

We've heard stories of passengers being diverted to other cities.

And stories of passengers being stuck in planes on the tarmac for more than two hours.

"We have the busiest runway in America and so even on a good clear sunny day, it takes a lot of things coming together for things to work perfectly and snow can be a disruptor that causes delays that ripple into the afternoon and evening in some instances," said Rob Yingling, spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

The two major runways at DCA have been opened most of the day.

Crews treated them early Tuesday morning and are ready if freezing becomes an issue.

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