Washington

Ahead of Christmas holidays, more than 2,270 US flights were cancelled on Thursday due to heavy snow and freezing temperatures.

Snow, rain, ice, wind and frigid temperatures are disrupting air travel plans across the United States.

Airlines cancelled just over 2,270 US flights by 6 ET pm on Thursday and proactively cancelled almost 1,000 flights for Friday, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.

Eighty-five flights were already cancelled for Saturday. Delays were even more extensive on Thursday

The impacts are being felt hardest in Chicago and Denver, where around a quarter of arrivals and departures - hundreds of flights at each airport - were cancelled on Thursday.

Temperatures at the O'Hare dropped to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 Celsius). The National Weather Service reported snow and freezing fog.

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Meanwhile, many airlines have issued weather waivers allowing travellers to change their itineraries without penalty during a short window.