McCarran expects to feel effects of Hurricane Irene during weekend

Staff and wire reports

Published Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 | 12:22 p.m.

Updated Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 | 5:36 p.m.

The East Coast is bracing for Hurricane Irene as high winds and rain began hitting the Carolinas today, but so far travel in and out of Las Vegas hasn’t been affected. That's likely to change over the weekend.

With Irene arriving during one of the last weekends of the summer travel season, flights across the country are expected to be delayed or canceled as the hurricane travels up the Eastern Seaboard past many of the nation’s busiest airports.

McCarran International Airport hasn’t felt any effects yet, spokesman Chris Jones said Friday. But, “I certainly don’t expect that to be the case through the weekend,” he said.

Jones suggested that air travelers check the status of their flight with the air carrier before going to the airport this weekend.

Southwest Airlines, the dominant carrier in Las Vegas, already has said operations will be suspended Saturday and/or Sunday at the following cities: Norfolk, Va.; Baltimore; Boston; Hartford, Conn.; Long Island, N.Y.; Manchester, N.H.; Newark, N.J.; New York’s LaGuardia; Philadelphia; Providence, R.I.; and Washington’s Dulles.

In addition, the airline said operations might be affected over the weekend in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Albany, N.Y.

Updates on the storm’s effect on Southwest flights are available on the airline’s website.

By the time the storm passes, U.S. airlines will have canceled at least 6,100 flights.

If weather forecasters are right, the storm could strike major airports from Washington to Boston, buffeting them with heavy rain and dangerous winds.

United Continental Holdings Inc., the world's largest airline company, said late Friday it would cancel 2,300 flights Saturday and Sunday. Delta Air Lines said it would shut down entirely at New York-area airports on Sunday and cancel 1,300 flights through Monday.

US Airways canceled 1,166 flights for Saturday and Sunday, JetBlue Airways scrubbed about 880 flights through Monday, and AirTran Airways, owned by Southwest Airlines, also canceled 265 flights through Monday. American Airlines said it would cancel 265 flights on Saturday and probably even more on Sunday.

American expected to halt flights in and out of Washington-area airports around noon Saturday, but United hoped to remain open at Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia, said spokesman Mike Trevino.

The hurricane is expected to make landfall around North Carolina on Saturday, move up the coast to New York on Sunday and then weaken in New England.

Delta's 1,300 cancelations, including Delta Connection flights, will equal about 8 percent of the company's flights between Saturday and Monday.

Many of the cancelations were on smaller, so-called regional affiliates such as United Express, Continental Express and Delta Connection. When weather limits flights at an airport, airlines ground those smaller planes first and try to salvage flights on the bigger "mainline" jets.

The airlines declined to say how many passengers would be affected by the hurricane, and the mix of small and big planes made it hard to estimate a figure. But the JetBlue flights, mostly on one type of aircraft, would likely have carried about 110,000 passengers, and they'll account for only about 15 percent of all canceled flights.

Airlines waived rebooking fees for customers who wanted to delay their flights to more than two dozen cities on the East Coast. Details varied by airline, with some giving travelers more time to make their rescheduled flight. Travelers whose flights were canceled would be eligible for refunds.

George Hobica, founder of the travel website airfarewatchdog.com, said travelers who bought nonrefundable tickets should wait until the airline cancels the flight rather than taking the airlines' offer to reschedule by a few days.

The problem with rebooking on the airlines' terms, Hobica says, is that you're unlikely to want to take the same trip a few days later.

Airlines have reduced flights in recent years, meaning it could be several days for stranded travelers to find a seat on another plane, says Airline consultant Mark Kiefer.

The hurricane will also affect cars, buses and trains.

A spokesman said Greyhound Lines started to cancel some service between Washington and New York on Thursday. Amtrak canceled most of its scheduled Saturday passenger rail service through Sunday south of Washington.