Air travelers scheduled to leave Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for the Northeast can expect five- to six-hour delays in departure times due to heavy snow in the region.
The Federal Aviation Administration's website, faa.gov, showed departures from Hartsfield-Jackson to Newark International Airport in New Jersey were experiencing delays of around six hours.
Departures to John F. Kennedy International Airport were averaging around five-hour delays, and delays to Philadelphia International Airport were about two hours.
An unusually early and powerful nor'easter along the East Coast began dumping several inches of wet, heavy snow Saturday. Some places along the mid-Atlantic saw more than half a foot of snow.
The storm was expected to worsen as it swept northward, with the heaviest snowfall forecast into Sunday in parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph were predicted especially along coastal areas.
A spokesman for Delta Air Lines, the largest carrier serving Hartsfield-Jackson, said flights to the Northeast may not return to some semblance of normalcy until midday Sunday.
The airline had more than 50 flights canceled by 7 p.m. Saturday and had to divert 16 additional flights to other cities, spokesman Eric Torbenson said.
“All three major New York airports had a tough day with the snow,” Torbenson said, including La Guardia among those affected. “I think that by the middle of the day [Sunday] we will probably have resumed something resembling what we think of as a normal flight schedule.”
Hartsfield-Jackson spokesman Al Snedeker said travelers headed for Atlanta’s airport should check flight schedules before arriving.
“We are encouraging folks to check with their airlines before they leave their house, particularly if they have flights to the Northeast,” Snedeker said. “I’ve seen tweets from some of the airports up in the Northeast, and they are having significant delays due to the storm.”
_ The Associated Press contributed to this report.
