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Irish flights cancelled after blizzard hits US northeast

Ground crew de-ices an Embraer ERJ-175 American Eagle passenger plane
Crews work to de-ice planes at LaGuardia Airport

US airlines are expected to ramp up operations following the cancellation of thousands of flights - including ten to or from Ireland - after a powerful winter storm paralysed travel across much of the northeast of the country.

Nine flights to or from Dublin Airport and one to Shannon have been cancelled so far today, on New York, Boston and New Jersey routes.

Passengers are advised to check with their airlines ahead of travel.

The so-called 'Nor'easter' pummelled the region overnight, disrupting flights and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power.

New York's three major airports as well as Boston Logan Airport saw the most cancellations.

Rhode Island TF Green International Airport registered almost 83cm of snow yesterday afternoon,- a record-shattering toll for the state.

However, US airlines, including United Airlines, said they had early plans to ramp up operations, but cautioned that conditions remain challenging.

Southwest Airlines said its plan "is on track to start ramping up operations ... if conditions permit us to safely do so."

Parked cars and trees are covered in snow
Around 50cm of snow was recorded at New York's Central Park

The Dallas-based low-cost carrier cancelled about 7% of flights yesterday, less ‌less than its rivals due to the carrier's limited Northeast exposure.

American Airlines said it had been able to resume operations at ⁠Washington Reagan National and Philadelphia.

Delta and American both said they expect ‌to resume operations at New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports and Boston later this morning. Delta also expects to resume Newark flights. Jet Blue was especially hard hit, cancelling about 80% of flights due to the storm, according to data from Flight Aware.

The airline said in ⁠total it has cancelled 1,600 flights until tomorrow.

US passenger railroad Amtrak cancelled dozens of trains between ⁠New York and Boston and on other routes in the Northeast. Several states ordered motorists to remain off roads for non-essential travel for extended periods due to the significant snowfall.

People walk in the snow in Times Square in New York City
The blizzard came just weeks after another snow storm hit the region

American, Delta and United all cancelled about 20% of flights yesterday. The blizzard dropped more than 76.2cm across parts of the ‌US northeast.

The storm came just weeks after the region recovered from another devastating winter weather system that was linked to more than 100 deaths.

Officials did not hold back in their public warnings ahead of the latest snowfall, urging residents to stay home and avoid congesting roads.

"I know that this is a city full of people who do not like to sit still," New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a briefing, warning New Yorkers of continuing danger from the storm.

Some 50cm of snow were recorded in Central Park, the most at New York City's official reporting station from a single storm in over a decade.

A travel ban in Rhode Island was prolonged until today, while Massachusetts's governor announced new restrictions for nonessential driving in parts of the state.

A closure of Boston public schools was extended to today due to the heavy snow.