Hurricane Sandy's Flight Cancellation Toll Tops 20,000
Floodwaters swamp a terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, which closed following Hurricane Sandy. (Photo: JetBlue Airways)
Floodwaters swamp a terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, which closed following Hurricane Sandy. (Photo: JetBlue Airways)

Hurricane Sandy closed the major New York City metropolitan area airports and forced the cancellation of more than 20,000 flights as it swept the Northeast region of the U.S. last week, leaving widespread flooding in its wake. The Category 1 hurricane, combined with cold fronts from the north and west, also disrupted operations at airports in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Other airports nationwide and internationally felt the ripple effect of the cancellations.