Thousands of flights in the U.S. on Friday have been canceled and delayed due to severe winter weather that has disrupted travel nationwide just days before Christmas.
More than 4,200 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. have been canceled as of 1 p.m. ET, according to air travel tracker FlightAware. More than 4,600 have been delayed, the data shows.
This is the third consecutive day of widespread disruption for air travel in the country.
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On Thursday, more than 10,028 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were delayed and nearly 2,539 were canceled. On Wednesday, FlightAware reported more than 8,100 delayed flights.
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Southwest Airlines had the most disruptions of the major U.S. carriers, with 22% of its flights canceled and another 26% delayed as of 1 p.m. ET on Friday.
Roughly 54 million passengers are expected to depart from U.S airports over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period. Thursday and Friday have been projected as the busiest travel days of the year-end holiday period, with 3.34 million passengers scheduled to fly out each day, according to travel app Hopper.
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Forecasters have predicted that the bad weather consisting of heavy snow, ice, flood and powerful winds, is expected to hit various parts of the U.S. from the Plains and Midwest to the East Coast, as soon as Thursday. It’s expected to last through Saturday with a surge of arctic air to follow.
Southwest, American, United and Delta Air Lines already issued travel waivers for various parts of the country in case a traveler’s flight is disrupted. This means the change fee and any difference in fare for certain flights impacted by bad weather are waived by the airline.
FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report