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What United, Southwest passengers can expect

Houston’s two main airports remained closed Tuesday due to winter weather, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations.

George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby closed at midnight Tuesday.

United Airlines and Southwest Airlines both have major operations in Houston. Together with United’s regional partners, they were among the airlines hardest hit by the storm on the Gulf Coast.

For passengers, however, there was some warning and increased flexibility to change their plans.

Both airlines have canceled most affected flights in advance, which should (hopefully) mean a smoother recovery once the storm subsides.

Why cancel flights in advance?

Airlines often cancel flights in advance of severe weather.

According to former airline executive Robert W. Mann Jr., this is because airlines typically have a good idea of ​​how a storm will affect their operations.

“Airlines anticipate that the arrival and departure rates at the affected airport will not support their full schedule, so they are cutting the schedule back to the rate the (Federal Aviation Administration) can support based on weather and wind conditions.” Mann, president of RW Mann and Company, an independent aviation consultancy, told USA TODAY.

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The Houston Airport Authority said it was closing its facilities due to dangerous road conditions in the city, and Mann said that could also be a big part of airlines’ decisions to cancel flights.

“If it’s a storm where their customers or crew members can’t come to the airport to fly or be served, that’s a reason to reduce the number of flights as well,” he said. “You just can’t run a full schedule under those circumstances.”

The George Bush Intercontinental in Houston is a major hub for United Airlines, so flight cancellations there could impact United flights across the country. Southwest also has a large facility at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, and while it’s not technically a hub because Southwest operates on a point-to-point model, its closure could still have a major impact on the overall airline schedule today.

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What passengers can expect now

It remains to be seen whether Southwest and United’s preparations have paid off and how quickly the airports can clean things up.

“It will really depend on what happens at the airport and on the roads around Houston,” Mann said. “These are not cities and airports that are generally equipped to deal with five to six inches of snow, maybe not even one or two inches. centimeters.”

But if advance planning from the airline and the airports worked, things should get back on track fairly quickly once the weather clears.

“It’s a good test of planning and preparation, both from a snow-moving standpoint and from a thawing standpoint,” Mann said.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwicher@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How United, Southwest respond to winter weather in Houston

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