The "monster" winter storm that is stalking the U.S. midwest dumping mounds of snow and ice enroute to New England may force cancellations of some flights into and out of Columbia Metropolitan Airport, but the scope of the storm's effect on air traffic is still unclear.
So far, the only two flight cancellations showing up on arrival/departure boards at the airport today are a New York/LaGuardia flight which airport officials said is normally scheduled to arrive at 4:07 p.m. and depart at 4:35 p.m. and an afternoon Chicago flight.
It is still unclear if the cancellations are weather related or not, said airport spokeswoman Lynne Douglas.
Airlines have canceled flights into and out of Columbia over the winter due to storms, even if the local area was not being directly impacted.
As of earlier today, airlines had canceled more than 5,900 flights across the U.S., as a huge storm centered over the Midwest is crippling transportation, in the air and by other means, reports said.