RDU International Airport still coping with hundreds of cancellations after storms

RDU International Airport continued to struggle to restore normal operations after weekend winter storms, with local flight-tracking data showing significant cancellations that still affected service on Monday. According to FlightAware, 135 flights scheduled to arrive or depart RDU on Saturday had been canceled as of 8:30 a.m., the News & Observer reported. CBS17 said over 100 flights were canceled at RDU on Monday, datelined MORRISVILLE, N.C.

Airport crews and contractors have been working to clear the airfield and get planes moving again. Flynn Snyde noted that "Crews are working hard to get flights off the ground on Monday at RDU International Airport." WRAL reported that "Over the weekend, there were hundreds of cancellations because of the winter weather. Crews worked to clear the runways and pour brine along the", a description of the on-the-ground response that underscores the operational effort to remove ice and restore safe conditions.

For Wake County residents and businesses, the cancellations translated into lost time and added expense. Commuters and business travelers faced missed connections or rebooking headaches, leisure travelers saw tightened itineraries, and airport-adjacent services including parking, ground transportation, and hotels faced sudden schedule volatility. Even without a precise dollar estimate available, transportation economists say cascading cancellations raise costs through extra crew hours, repositioning flights, and passenger accommodations, effects that ripple through the regional economy when a major airport like RDU is disrupted.

The pattern of dozens to hundreds of cancellations over a short window also highlights operational vulnerabilities during sharp winter events. Airport operations centers prioritize runway and taxiway clearance, de-icing and brine application, and coordination with airlines; the quick application of those resources determines how fast schedules recover. For airlines, concentrated cancellations compress recovery windows and can prolong disruption into subsequent days as aircraft and crews are delayed across networks.

Local officials and travelers should expect intermittent delays while the airport works through the backlog and restores normal rotations. Travelers flying out of RDU this week should check flight status directly with their carriers and allow extra time for connections. For Wake County policymakers and airport managers, the episode underscores the value of investing in winter-operations capacity and contingency planning so the region’s business and tourism flows are less vulnerable to episodic storms.

As crews continue recovery efforts, monitoring by FlightAware and local reporting will provide the clearest numbers on how quickly service returns to normal and whether the weekend’s "hundreds of cancellations" translate into longer-term impacts on schedules and regional travel demand.