A record-breaking year for flight cancellations

Nationwide flight cancellations continued at this winter’s record-breaking pace Monday, as airlines grounded thousands of planes traveling to and from the East Coast.

About 3,000 flights were canceled as of 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to the tracking website FlightAware. In the New York area, more than 650 were scrapped despite just a dusting of snow, while nearly 500 more were delayed.

Airlines axed more than 87,000 flights since Dec. 1, according to an Associated Press analysis, the highest number since the Department of Transportation began collecting such data in 1987-1988.

More than 240 flights to and from LaGuardia were canceled by yesterday evening, according to FlightAware. About 200 more were grounded at JFK and Newark apiece.

Many of the cancellations both in New York and elsewhere were made preemptively on Sunday night and Monday morning in anticipation of a more severe storm. Though this winter has been especially harsh for travel, airlines are also quicker to ground flights because of new federal regulations that prevent long waits on the tarmac before takeoff.