Hundreds of flights cancelled

WASHINGTON (AP):

Hundreds of flights were cancelled yesterday at the three airports serving the Washington and Baltimore areas as a result of a major winter storm.

Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports closed at approximately 6 a.m. yesterday. Crews were making good progress clearing runways and taxiways up to midday, but it was not yet clear when the airports would reopen, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman, Rob Yingling, said.

On a normal day, there are about 840 flights at Reagan National and 750 at Dulles. Some international travelers were waiting in the terminal at Dulles yesterday because their flights had not yet been canceled, Yingling said.

last flight

The last flight to arrive at Dulles was from Johannesburg, South Africa, at approximately 6 a.m. There were no arrivals yesterday morning at Ronald Reagan, which is not usually operational during the overnight hours.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport remained open throughout the storm, but spokesman Jonathan Dean said all but a handful of yesterday's flights have been cancelled.

Reagan was virtually silent, with flights cancelled and most vendors closed for business. People passed time on black chairs, or even tried to doze on vents, while waiting for flights that they knew had little chance of being on time. One vendor at an airport arts boutique spent the night in a green sleeping bag in the shop because she said customers expect businesses to stay open.