Hundreds of flights in NY region canceled before storm

NEW YORK: Hundreds of flights were cancelled Wednesday morning to and from New York airports as the region braced itself for heavy snowfall.
Some 470 flights — nearly 37% of the total scheduled — arriving and departing from John F Kennedy International Airport had already been cancelled by 9am (1400 GMT, 10pm Malaysia), along with 550, or 44%, of flights from New Jersey's Newark airport and 485, or 42%, from La Guardia, which operates primarily domestic flights, according to the FlightAware flight tracking site.
The Port Authority agency that oversees the three airports — which has come under sharp criticism for the chaos that followed early January's snowstorm — said each airport had stocked folding beds, blankets, diapers and baby formula as a precautionary measure.
New York expected between 15cm to 25cm of snowfall Wednesday, with up to 50cm predicted in more rural areas of New York state, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The National Weather Service warned of "heavy wet snow, coastal flooding and gusty winds" in the region.
New York public schools as well as city public services and courts were open as usual.
The last storm to sweep through the northeastern United States last week left at least five people dead, mostly due to trees felled by violent winds and heavy rains. — AFP