Travel group: Flight cancellations from blizzard cost $230M

The nearly 8,500 flights that were canceled on Monday and Tuesday because of a large snowstorm that struck several cities in the Northeast cost the U.S. economy $230 million, the U.S. Travel Association said Tuesday. 

As much as two feet of snow was forecasted to fall in major cities on the East Coast like New York City and Boston, although New York ended up receiving about eight inches, much less snowfall than anticipated.

The Washington, D.C.-based Travel Association said there was enough snow to cost the U.S. economy $31,600 per canceled flight, or $230 million overall. 

{mosads}The group said the per-flight figure is based on an analysis that was conducted by its researchers last year. 

“Storms that affect travel are a fact of life, but being able to calculate the exact economic impact is valuable for how we prepare for them as a nation,” U.S. Travel President Roger Dow said in a statement. “Our air travel infrastructure has been falling behind the rest of the world for years, and Washington cannot agree on how we pay for sorely needed improvements. When an event like Juno comes along, it’s important for politicians and the public to realize that there is a serious cost to consumers and the economy, which we could help mitigate with infrastructure investments.”

The website FlightAware.com reported Tuesday afternoon that domestic airlines canceled 3,265 flights on Monday and 5,164 flights on Tuesday as the storm that was dubbed “historic” by meteorologists. 

The leading airport for cancellations on Tuesday was New York’s LaGuardia Airport, which had 537 outgoing and 519 inbound flights canceled.

Newark Liberty International, New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Boston’s Logan Airport rounded out the top five on the delay list Tuesday.