Fog grounds, delays flights in Midwest
— Dense fog caused flight delays and some cancellations at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway international airports early on Christmas Eve — one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season.
T he Federal Aviation Administration briefly grounded flights at both air- ports until about 8 a.m. Tues- day and eased those restrictions as the fog cleared.
Four flights between Dayton and Chicago were delayed.
Five departures from the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport were also delayed while the John Glenn International Air- port reported three delays and two cancellations on flights to Chicago.
The National Weather Service said “dense, freezing fog” developed overnight throughout the city and its surrounding suburbs, lead- ing to travel difficulties in the air and on the ground. The weather service reported visibility at Chicago’s air- ports was less than a quar- ter of a mile (400 meters) in some spots.
“These are just about the worst conditions you can have for flying,” weather service meteorologist Kevin Donofrio said. “When visibility gets down to a quar- ter-mile, that’s when it gets really dangerous for planes to land.”
By midmorning, nearly 50 flights had been canceled at O’Hare, and more than 70 flights canceled at Midway, split evenly between arrivals and departures, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. Flight delays were about half an hour at O’Hare and less at Midway.
The weather service advised dr ivers to slow down, turn on low beams and increase following distance while the freezing fog hangs over expressways.