Storm halts flights in Chicago

Thunderstorms accompanied by hail and winds of up to 75 mph interrupted train service, downed power lines and halted  hundreds of flights earlier this morning at both Chicago's O’Hare and Midway airports, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Due to severe weather conditions, airlines at O’Hare International Airport are experiencing delays up to 90 minutes for inbound and outbound flights. Airlines have canceled more than more than 200 flights, primarily due to weather.

At Midway International, airlines report a few delays between 30-90 minutes for inbound and outbound flights, with minor cancellations.

"O'Hare was shut down for 48 minutes this morning due to heavy storms," Ed Martelle, spokesman for American Airlines, told Reuters.

"We have had just 10 cancellations and eight diversions. Those numbers should hold, but the closure effects will ripple into mid-afternoon."

United Airlines and Continental Airlines are among the airlines offering travel waivers to passengers with flights scheduled for today. On those airlines, fees for same-day flight changes are waived within 24 hours of original departure and refunds are permitted if a flight is canceled or delayed at least 2 hours. 

Passengers traveling today should check their airline's website to confirm the status of flights and the availability of travel waivers.

Information from Reuters was included in this report.

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wow amzing they can't figure out who brought it onboard goven the extremely high level of security, scanning, cameras everywhere etc.!

    Reply#1 - Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:51 PM EDT
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