Sandy forces 10,000 flight cancellations in US northeast coast

RIO DE JANEIRO - Nearly 10,000 flights have been canceled for Monday and Tuesday by airlines bracing for Hurricane Sandy.

Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, has asked the public to stay at home when Sandy slams the city. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Monday warned travelers against going to JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airport.

Air China canceled the flight to China Monday, according to its customer service.

Travellers surround a flight monitor showing cancelled flights at LaGuardia airport in New York, Oct 28, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

About one-quarter of all US flights traveling in or out of New York airports every day. According to the flight-tracking service website FlightAware, nearly 10,000 flights had been canceled for Monday and Tuesday as a result of the storm. Major carriers such as American, United and Delta Airlines canceled all flights into and out of three airports in the New York area.

Kathleen Bergen with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Communications told Xinhua that "Working with our federal partners, the FAA is continuously monitoring Hurricane Sandy, and will take steps to prepare and protect FAA facilities and equipment that are in the projected path of the storm, including control towers, radars and navigational aids."

She added that the FAA's top operational priority is to quickly re-establish air traffic service to support disaster relief efforts, saying "The FAA Air Traffic System Command Center will maintain constant communications with the airlines, the military, business aviation and airports in the storm's path."

Hurricane Sandy, a massive storm described by forecasters as one of the largest ever that hit the United States, is making her way towards the population-dense East Coast. Evacuations have been ordered from Maryland to Maine, where storm surge and high winds are expected to wipe out power to millions.