O’Hare leading nation in cancellations, delays after lighter-than-expected snowfall

O’Hare International Airport was leading the nation in delays and cancellations Monday after Chicago’s first major winter storm of the season brought a fraction of the anticipated snowfall.

Passengers were dealing with a double-whammy: weather-related delays and the stress of being caught up in the fourth day of government-mandated flight cancellations amid an air traffic controller shortage and a prolonged government shutdown.

“You can either make a choice to be frustrated — or you accept your fate,” said Rhiannon Pabich, 32, who was dealing with a 2-hour delay on her flight from Chicago back to Boston.

O’Hare had logged more than 500 flight cancellations from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon, according to the according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. No other airport in the U.S. had as many delays and cancellations as of Monday afternoon, according to the tracking website FlightAware.

Despite the disruptions, security lines at O’Hare were minimal late Monday morning.

O’Hare also led the nation in cancellations for a few hours Friday, the first day of the Federal Aviation Administration’s mandated cuts to flights to maintain the safety of air travel. Due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, who haven’t been paid since Oct. 1 and are suffering from absenteeism, the FAA asked airlines to cut flights at 40 of the largest airports by 4% last Friday. The cuts ramp up to 6% on Tuesday and 10% on Friday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the cuts may rise further if the federal government shutdown continues.

Many flights in Chicago were delayed after a snowstorm dropped 1.7 inches of snow at O’Hare and 2.5 inches at Midway by Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Another snow front had passed later in the morning. Over 5 inches of snow were reported in Kankakee and parts of northwest Indiana.

The Weather Service initially predicted 7 to 15 inches of snow for the Chicago area through Tuesday evening.

One couple missed their connecting flight to their week-long vacation in Mexico after the lighter-than-expected snow delayed their flight from Columbus, Ohio two hours.

Now they must stay a night in Chicago until the next available flight. They estimate they are out $2,000 between the unexpected Chicago hotel stay and missed day at the resort.

“We’re very frustrated that we can’t do anything about it,” said Dylyn, who did not want to share her last name.