Superstorm Hurricane Sandy forces flight cancellations along US east coast

New York: Airlines cancelled thousands of flights into and from airports along the US east coast ahead of the arrival of a major storm, officials said on Sunday.

Air France and other European airlines cancelled all flights into New York and Washington on Monday while US airlines called off thousands of domestic flights and moved planes away from east coast airports away from the path of Hurricane Sandy.

New York airports stayed open on Sunday but the airport authority warned passengers there will be major disruption in the next two days.

According to the online aviation tracking service, flightaware.com more than 3,000 flights have already been cancelled because of the storm and worse is expected.

It said more than 700 domestic and international flights were called off Sunday with Newark airport in New York's New Jersey suburbs worst hit. Newark, a hub for United Airlines, had more than 265 flights cancelled on Sunday while the weather was still relatively calm.

Flightaware noted the closure of mass transit systems and the need for staff to be home to prepare for the storm was a factor in early flight disruptions.

The site said 2,500 international and domestic flights on Monday had already been cancelled. Newark had called off 774 flights, Washington's Dulles airport 428 and Philadelphia airport 355 flights.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the region's major John F Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark airports have warned there will be "significant disruption" because of Hurricane Sandy which is expected to hit on Monday.

• Also See